The Story of Amy Rose: The Capture
by Fallen Violet Rose
Summary: After three years physically and mentally healing, Amy Rose has found herself returning to the side of her friends after separating herself, although she was never alone. But at the first reunion, the team is attacked, the offender responsible claiming they came for the princess. Chaos ensues and the guys find themselves on a rescue. (Chapters have been edited) ShdamyKnuxrouCrails
1. Prelude: A Rose as It Stands

I edited this first chapter here, if you'd like to reread for clarity. :)

This is actually a story I started on FanFiction, but I wanted to post it here so I would get more feedback.

Just wanted to put up the first chapter of my completed Shadamy story to see if the public will take a gander at it. So this chapter will be a little.. sad and dreary and solemn, but have no fear! It shall brighten up by the next chapter. And here I shall bring to the stage out main couples of the story, some action and lots of narration. At any rate, here's the one of many planned out Shadamy stories I have set out of you.

Written in third person.

Prelude: The Rose as It Stands

A frost clad breeze snuck through the window of a snow covered home, ruffling the baby blue curtains to hide the main figure of our story. The protagonist that currently sits to her cream kitchen table, awaiting a call to action. A being contemplating a purpose, her petals shifting with each sigh of the wind. A coral complexioned hedgehog with glistening emerald orbs and an innocence that reaches into your very soul and turns you over until you fall to your knees, under her unintentional spell.

A rose, at the beginning.

The cleanliness of her tinged yellow kitchen did nothing to withstand her dreary thoughts, her solemn expression doing it's best to remain bubbly and optimistic, but failing with every fiber of it's being. On a normal day her kitchen would blossom with it's bright hues of yellow, blue and pink, the atmosphere tainted with the smell of cinnamon and pumpkin spice. Music would spring from even the darkest crevices of the room, unable to hide once she infected the kitchen with her natural voice and light. But although the scent was there, the atmosphere remained flat, only the odor of empty left in its wake. The sunlight was muffled by the endearing clouds, willing to darken the day more if need be.

She shifted ever so slightly, her dark jeans wrinkling under her. She brought her fingers to intertwine with one another on the tabletop, the sleeves of her cream shirt falling over her hands. Her grey socks adorning her feet, quills grown to mid back, left ear twitching with silver studs in them, she busied her mind with excessive thoughts.

And whom, you ask, is she thinking about that has her mind in such deep an ocean?

Well, who else could it be?

You guessed right. The one and only…

Sonic the Hedgehog.

But what was he doing that could make a rose such as this one shed her petals at such a tormenting pace such as we see here?

It's not what he's doing, but what he'd done. Three years ago, to be precise, on a day such as this one, but with much more hope, he'd mistakingly hurt her.

It began with a picnic.

It was a harmless picnic, hosted by the rose hedgehog herself. She was a teenager of fourteen and had wished to casually dine with her friends after an odd peace set over mobius. Eggman had not engaged in another plot to conquer their world, so all was quiet and remained at rest as our heroes healed mentally and physically from the consistent fighting.

A checkered red and white blanket was spread out across a patch of grass cleared of the snowy invader, supporting the weight of six mobians, the seventh sitting a short ways away against a tree. A delicious spread of food was laid out before them, consisting of bread, bagels, pastries, sandwiches and various finger foods. Next to the blanket was a kettle heating over a fire, preparing hot chocolate for the picnickers to enjoy. The heroes, clad in warm clothing, laughed at the present conversation as the sun warmed that february day, revealing itself from its cloudy hiding place.

A red echidna, his mouth stuffed with bread, tried to speak to his white bat companion on his left side. She chuckled at his idiocy as he tried to get his point across with his mouth full. As he tried to swallow he chocked, earning concerned glances from the females on the blanket, but the males only laughed to the point of no return. A cream colored rabbit handed the echidna a bottle of water and once he was able to use his voice once again, he growled with frustration and threatened to beat his male friends to a pulp. They quieted down, but remained in high spirits, unperturbed by their red dread friend's threat, but unwilling to further his anger.

But the blue hedgehog muttered a rather… offensive comment about the echidna under his breath and the threat came to life. The echidna chased the blue blur around the picnic blanket, the yellow-orange kitsune speaking common sense aloud in hopes it would reach his quarreling friends and stop their insistent fighting. Our rose protagonist giggled at her friends playful nature, picking up a napkin filled with foods as she stood and walked over to the figure sitting against a nearby tree.

She stopped in front of him, an ebony hedgehog streaked red, and handed him her offering. He looked up from his position, which consisted of his head down, eyes closed, arms crossed and body relaxed. His intense crimson gaze met hers and instantly softened, his eyes going half mast. He cracked a small genuine smile, taking her gift and thanking her silently with a nod. She smiled great fully and returned with a trot to her picnic blanket, where the others continued to chow down on her excellent cooking.

The rose had hoped she could eventually gain the love of her blue hero. It was her against all the other females in her age range around her world, for Sonic could choose any of which he found in his liking. But she had the advantage. She was closer to him than any of the other fan girls out there and she fought beside him any chance she got in order to protect her beloved and maybe gain his respect and eventually … adoration. So, changing up her tactics, she presented him with a plate of chili dogs from her basket. After thanking her, he began swallowing them whole, eyes glistening at the unique taste and satisfaction it brought to him to eat her cooking. This was it. She knew she could get to a guys heart through his stomach. Rouge had taught her well.

But just as their picnic reached it's peak, an explosion interrupted the peace which had brought them together. All seven of them gazed to the north of the forest, expectant. A smoke stack materialized in the exact direction they sought, foreshadowing the impending danger. The blue blur stood up first, the leader inside him making itself known. After a minute of thought and mental preparation, he called his fellow companions to action and they all dashed through the forest at full speed.

The blue blur emerged from the forest first, his eyes feeding on the sight of a large horde of Eggman robots terrorizing the forest, tearing out the trees to form a vast clearing. He growled with anger, furious with the machinery that ripped his favorite forest from it's roots. He instantly zipped toward the horde, smashing twenty of them with his famous homing attack.

The red echidna emerged next, stunned shortly at the enormity of the horde. He hated seeing plant life destroyed, especially after he grew up on Angel island, a floating vegetation-filled island that held the spirits of his ancestry. The bat was at his side in an instant, gazing sadly at the sight. She was through with all the senseless fighting Eggman had to offer. Sure, her thieving nature had led her to lead the life of a highly paid spy, but she wanted no more to indulge in the enemies schemes. She touched the shoulder of the red echidna, pulling him from his shock. She gave him a meaningful stare and he nodded to her unspoken question. She backed up slightly and propelled herself forward, wings outspread. The echidna took hold of her outstretched hand, allowing her to take him above the horde. She dropped him like a bomb, unexpected and dangerous, ready to explode with a series of bone crushing spiked punches.

The kitsune and his cream rabbit friend emerged from the trees in flight, having a hard time stopping themselves as they came upon and unsightly scene. The kitsune, prepared for the worst, pulled out his newest invention, a ray gun that turned robots into scrap metal. His bunny friend was behind him as if she was hiding from something. She grabbed his shoulder, afraid and unsure. He looked back to her, questioning her with his eyes. She gave him a quivering gaze, on the verge of tearing up. He gave her a reassuring smile with his thumbs up, believing in her. Her confidence flowed into her once more and they both took off toward the battle field.

Lastly, the rose hedgehog emerged from the brush, with an ebony fellow right behind her. Her eyes widened with obvious horror, the scene of more Eggman destruction not taking her by surprise, but exasperating her. Could there be no such peace for a year? The ebony helped her to stand, putting his hand atop her short curved quills to turn her head to him. He asked if she were alright again, but this time with his eyes. She gave him a reassuring smile and patted his hand atop her head. He nodded and faced the attackers ahead. He skated forward, the rose right at his heels, mallet materializing into existence.

Their attack pattern was strong and practiced. The echidna smashed robot after robot, the pearl colored bat taking flight and coming down with forceful kicking attacks to the robots that dared near her red companion. The cream bunny and her chao flew evasively around the robots heads, distracting them as she avoided their attacks. Once they were distracted, the kitsune would zap them into a metal heap and flip to the side to avoid anymore attacks only to zap his offenders when they were staggered. The ebony utilized his immortal strength to the fullest, crushing robots with his bare hands, kicking their heads into kingdom come and emitting a chaos attack when it seemed he'd be overpowered. The rose attacked with her mallet as usual, but she was much more practiced and smashed the ground with an unnatural strength to trap the robots between the cracks in the earth. From there she executed attacks to the helplessly trapped Eggman mecha. After successfully eliminating a set of thirty robots, she looked around. She had not seen the blue blur since her arrival to the clearing and was worried about his safety. No one had a clue to what Eggman was planning, but it normal had to do Sonic's capture and domination.

The rose ran the perimeter of the battle field, smashing any robots in her wake, when she spotted her blue hero atop a rock that jutted high from the ground. She smiled at her discovery, but changed out her expression for that of fright. Her beloved was surrounded by six skyscraper tall robots, each with their rectangular bellies opening up slowly. He looked around for a way out, but each way he turned, the robots would direct their aim at his new position. Then, a familiar chuckle made itself known as a fat man sitting in his round floating chair, messing with his orange mustache, floated downward in the middle of the robots surrounding the blue blur.

The rose ran up to the rock, prepared to climb it and defend her hero as the egg-shaped doctor began one of his monologues on his new world domination scheme. The rose stopped short of presenting herself to the blue blur and the doctor, listening and waiting before commencing. She obtained some dangerous information. The skyscraper robots each had a large heat seeking missile all of which were going to be shot at the blue blur in order to eliminate him… for good. Eggman continued speaking and was giving the order of attack.

"Robots 721, 722, 723, 724, 725 and 726! Fire your missiles at the hedgehog before me! Hohoho!" he cackled.

"Firing at-"

Just as the system stated whom it was going to attack, the rose revealed herself, running in front of her hero with outstretched arms. The doctor was wide eyed with surprise. So was the blue blur's as he told her to move out of the way, but she refused.

"- pink female hedgehog. Commencing in ten, nine, eight-" the system continued.

"No you blasted machine! The blue one! The blue hedgehog!" Eggman belched, smashing the buttons on his chair.

The blue blur once again asked her to move, but she shook her head, looking back at him.

" You're the hero. I can't let you die. You're the only one who can end this fight, so you must at least be the last one standing," she stated, tears in her eyes.

" -four, three, two-"

The blue blur muttered a miserable "no" before the count down hit one. With a loud blasting of fire to metal, the six missiles headed for the rose hedgehog at an intense speed. With the missiles directed at her, she hoped of the rock, leading the missiles back around the perimeter of the field.

She ran like there was no tomorrow, pulling up her knowledge of heat seeking missiles as she did. Just then, a plan formed in her head to spare her life. She ran through the trees, running in a zigzag pattern with hopes her plan would work. As planned, the closest missile hit a tree and exploded. The force of the explosion pushed the rose forward, enough to stagger her for a second, but not enough to trip her off her feet. She emerged front the trees, headed for the horde, which was reduced to about half it's size due to her friends handiwork.

The rose shouted a warning. Her fighting friends looked up, and scurried away from the robots as they saw the missiles emerge front the trees behind her. She swerved through the horde, dodging their grabbing hands. She stopped in the middle of the horde, moving out of the way in just enough time for the closest two missiles to strike at the spot where she'd just been, not able to follow her fast enough. The explosion shook the ground, destroying half of the present robots into a heap of useless metal. From the smoke emerged the rose hedgehog, bruised but not beaten, running for her life.

Three down, three to go.

She headed for the circle of skyscraper robots again, seeing the blue blur and another large robot fighting at the center, Eggman circling them as he commanded his robot. He saw the rose and took cover, Eggman also getting the message, but a little too late. She ran between the legs of the skyscraper robots, a space at which the missiles could not pass. The first robot flew forward with the impact of the fourth missile, hitting the other as it exploded. The fifth missile followed the rose, getting extremely close to hitting her dead on. But she slid under the legs of the robot her hero had been fighting and the fifth smacked it instead, blowing it to smithereens. In the distance, Eggman's shriek of defeat could be heard.

But the rose was still not safe.

The last missile headed for her as she tripped up slightly, but kept moving. She was bruised and cut up and felt she could not fully avoid the impact of the last missile. She knew not where to go or where to misguide the missile. All she knew was that she needed to either think quick or beg for a miracle.

Just then she noticed a lonely tree in the clearing, heading for it with hopes she could evade that last missile's destruction. With one last breath of escape she jumped between it's branches, landing face first in the snow on the other side of the tree. She protected her head as her name was shrieked from the mouths of her companions, right before the missile struck the tree.

Debris flew everywhere it could possibly chuck itself, pelting the rose withe everything it had. All was silent as the battle had come to an end.

The smoke subsided as the heroes searched for their dear rose. As they did so, the rose emerged from her metal grave, limping away with a victorious smile. They had won and, by chaos, grace had kept her alive.

In the distance, the rose could see her hero standing atop an elevated part of the clearing, as Eggman made his getaway on his severely damaged levitating chair. She tried to reach him, but tripped with her effort. Warm hands gripped her shoulders. The rose looked up and saw him, giving her his concerned emerald eyes. She would pass out soon from over exerting herself, but that didn't matter to her right now. All she cared about was knowing they were all safe again and the hedgehog in front of her might carry her unconscious form back home.

"Ames. Why?"

She smiled.

"Why not?" she muttered weakly.

He lifted her up, allowing her to stand at her request. She moved his hands away from her shoulders and stood alone, all the while the blue blur held his hands out incase she were to fall. She wanted to show she was strong for at least a moment longer.

But before they made it anywhere, an all to familiar female voice rang out.

"Sonic?"

A chipmunk of high stature materialized from the brush, signature boots adorning her feet, jeans and a sweater covering the rest. Her red bangs covered one of her eyes in a seductive manner, a worried glance adorning her face as she spotted her long time crush. The azure hero stopped and stared in disbelief…

And then he ran faster than he'd ever had in his life.

He picked up the chipmunk with an iron grip and twirled her around, his happiness overflowing. He hadn't seen her in quite a while, despite his alleged freedom.

And the rose watched from a distance, staring blankly. Without her notice, she wobbled from side to side.

The white bat ran over to her rose friend hurriedly. She was bleeding profusely. The red echidna and kitsune followed her and went on either side of her to keep her from falling to the ground. They wrapped their arms behind her back, pulling her bloodied arms up and around their shoulders. The cream colored rabbit ran up to the group, ripping a piece off her shirt and wrapped it around the rose's bleeding leg. As this went on, the rose stared at the couple conversing in the distance. As the bat called the rose's name, she followed her gaze and fell upon the sight of the azure hedgehog's newest discovery. Soon the whole group gazed in the direction of the girl's gazes.

The azure hero, Sonic the Hedgehog, began to walk away with the chipmunk into the brush, but stopped.

"You guys get patched up! I'm going to go talk to the king!"

As he was leaving, footfalls in the grass were heard behind them. Although the rose did not notice, the echidna and the kitsune had released her and she was now being lifted into another set of arms, bridal style. She did not notice until a voice called her name, the life line that kept her from drowning.

"Rose, come back to us," a deep, calming voice spoke with a crystal clarity.

The rose looked up, only to be smothered by a crimson gaze. She was in the arms of the ebony hedgehog. She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream, she wanted to beg him to come back. But the ebony would not let her.

"Sleep, Rose. You're safe now."

And with one last sigh of total misery, the rose slept on the soft tuft of fur the ebony had to offer.

The ebony chaos controlled the team back to their mansion where they rushed around the medical wing, trying to patch up their rose the best they could. The kitsune lead the operation, directing the bat, the echidna and the rabbit to obtain gauze, alcohol, needles and thread for him as he analyzed all of her wounds and pressed a cloth to her leg that continued to bleed. He began to hook up monitors and IV's into her. Her condition needed attention, but was not life threatening.

Eventually, the craziest settled. With the rose patched up and secure in one of the medical rooms, the team sighed with relief, patching up their own wounds and bruises. The ebony sat in a chair near her bed, head down and arms crossed. The echidna leaned against the wall next to the bat who sat in another chair next to the bunny. The kitsune was checking the monitors and going over everything twice to insure the rose was alright.

The echidna began to grumble about the blue blur, his voice growing in volume with each syllable. He spoke about how he pitied Amy. He and the others knew very well of her efforts in gaining Sonic's love and it seemed as if she'd lost the game. After the team had moved in and gotten to know each other, they'd all grown close, despite certain characteristics about one another like Amy's hyper activeness, which was actually quite tame when she wasn't concerned with Sonic and living her normal life. The kitsune would not have anything of the sort. He told the echidna that if he wanted to speak, he could do so out in the living room down stairs. He did not want the rose hedgehog to wake up or have troubled dreams. She would not heal properly if she could not slumber in peace.

The echidna and the bat left, heading down stairs to talk. After twenty minutes, the kitsune was finished securing his patient and pulled off his gloves, retiring for the moment so he could go fetch something to eat down stairs. The rabbit and the ebony remained.

The rabbit was mourning in a sense and mutter things like 'Poor, Amy. She was working so hard.'

After another twenty minutes, the cream bunny stood up after seeing the rose fidget in distress. She announced that she was going to scrub her body with cool water to sooth her and that the ebony would have to leave for a few minutes. He nodded, stepping out the door, closing it behind him. He leaned against the wall by her door, waiting.

All he heard was the echidna speak as if he were in a debate, slightly hurt himself by what the azure one had done. He understood his friend, but maybe he could have more concerned about Amy's well being instead of expecting his friends to tend to her. Not that they would have just left her on her own, but he was sure she'd love it a lot more if Sonic were there waiting for her to awaken, no matter how much he dreaded her over reactions. And not to long after that, the doorbell sounded, ceasing the chatter from down stairs. Someone answered it, and none other than the blue blur came through the door, happy as ever. He came in, speaking of how he and Princess Sally were dating once again at that they were all invited to the castle tonight to reunite with the Acorn family once again after many years apart.

The echidna began to slightly lecture the hedgehog, but with much more passion than before. He felt for the rose that he'd grown to admire for her optimism and hope. He at least hoped the blue blur would check on her later. The cream rabbit emerged from the door, announcing that she was finished, and hurried down stairs to seek out her kitsune friend. The ebony waited for ten minutes, listening to the exchange that was going on down stairs. He heard the front door open and the voices of Sonic and the red echidna muffling behind the walls of the house. From what her could hear, the blue blur agreed to see her, but he couldn't miss this chance to dine with the king. He felt it could lead to good opportunities. Amy would understand if he were late or out for a little longer than usual, right? They weren't dating.

The ebony heard noise from the room next to him and decided he would return to his position beside the rose.

The ebony retraced his steps back into the rose's room to find her bed vacant and the window behind the bed wide open. His eyes wide open, he ran to the window and took notice of the retreating pink figure heading through the back of the mansion into the unknown of the forest ahead. He hopped out of the window and followed her.

After a few yards, he called her name. She froze, whirling around to face her ebony friend that cared for her so. He asked her where she was going and she replied that she herself did not know. He demanded she come back, but she replied that she was old enough to leave and take care of herself and that she needed to get away from it all. Away from him.

"Don't do this, Rose."

"I'm sorry. I just... I'm hurt. I want to leave, try to get over myself."

The ebony sighed, but complied. He could not stop her once she began, and he would not stop her.

"Will you promise me something, Rose?" She nodded.

"Promise you'll take care of yourself. No suicide attempts or careless captures, alright?" the ebony asked.

"I promise, as long as you promise not to kill Sonic while I'm gone."

The ebony stared, wide eyed at the rose. After all the blue blur had done, after the pain he inflicted on her, after stepping on her heart and spitting on it like he did right in front of her eyes, she did not seek vengeance? After being known for being temperamental and aggressive, she did not wish to be avenged?

The ebony nodded to her request and she smiled that heart warming smiled he loved to see.

"Watch over me from above, ultimate life form."

"I will."

And she was gone, just like that.

After a few moments of silence, her footfalls no longer heard, the ebony chaos controlled to the front of the house where the azure one was trying to plead his case. The white bat stood at the opened front door with the bunny, the kitsune in the yard with the water hose, ready to shoot if the situation became unnecessarily lethal. That normally happened when Knuckles and Sonic went over board. It seemed the two couldn't have a normal conversation without heating up.

The azure one grumbled, trying to get away before the echidna could make him feel any worse.

"I promise, Knuckles! I'll make it right with her when I get back," he shouted.

The ebony, remaining calm, teleported in front of him, kicked him into the ground. He grabbed him by his throat. The females at the door yelled at for him not to kill him.

"She will not be here when you get back, faker," the ebony began.

The azure one choked, confused.

"Just letting you know," he gritted into his ear.

The ebony threw the blue hedgie right back into the ground before he teleported to god knows where.

And that's how it happened.

How the rose had lost the game of love she was never meant to win.

How she ended up away from her friends for three years.

And it explains only a piece of why she's in such deep thoughts.

The call to action of her oven brought her from her trance. The rose swiftly got up, pulling her muffins from the oven and allowing them to cool. She retrieved the basket she had bought adding a bow to the wooden handle. She secured the muffins in the basket and placed a small box in the corner. She wrapped up the basket to keep the treats warm and placed it by the door. She went to retrieve her coat and boots, as she was now ready to leave.

Today was the bunnie's birthday and her party was being held at her mother's house. She promised she would go, even though she would have to be in the same room as… Sonic.

The rose, as she stands now, hesitantly opened the door of her home that lead to the outside world, forbidding her home goodbye. Sure, she would return, but she had no clue how long she would be nor what she was getting herself into. With her gift in hand, she trotted down the snow covered path to a reunion of unexpected events.

She walked with a pep in her step, trying her best to remain optimistic, preparing herself to meet her rabbit friend. She wished not to make her friends special day miserable with her past pains, so she put up her mask, ready for anything.

Except this.

She heard footfalls in the snow, and the snapping of a twig on the ground. She stopped looking behind her. The footsteps stopped. She glanced around suspiciously, Nothing.

She began walking again, but this time she waited to hear the footsteps again. And she heard them once more, but much closer.

She ran, looking behind her to see the upcoming threat, to gauge if she could take it on with her mallet or not...

And fail to notice the uprooted tree root that tripped her a few seconds after she began to run.

She began to fall, eyes wide seeing nothing but the snow covered ground rushing toward her.

And then, she stopped falling.

A/N A little cliffy to keep you interested. More action in the next chapter and a ton of romance as I present the rest of the crew. Review please. :)


	2. Alone and Yet Loved

Just a heads up, the first chapter had a ton of narration in it. I did that to set the stage of the story like it was a story book beginning. But in the upcoming chapters, I won't do that as much. Sure, it will still remain in third person, but there's going to be a whole lot more dialogue coming up.. and romance and action! Onward, my good people!

Oh, and just a heads up, Sally isn't very nice to anyone in this story, not until the end where she humbles herself. She's somewhat conceited...But she'll get better. It's all part of the plot where she and Sonic a rumored to have the most perfect relationship, but they're actually having problems. But like I said, it's just part of the plot. So no comments on Sally that say how out of character she is. I'm sick of idiots who only comment about trivial things.

Other than that, enjoy!

In third person

Chapter 1: Alone and Yet.. Loved

And then, she stopped falling.

The rose, frozen in time by a steady grip around her waist that had managed to catch her, stared stupefied at the snowy ground of the forest that she had, thankfully, not taken a mouth full of. She was, first, shaken at the thought that her pursuer had caught her and was nearly prepared to summon her hammer, but an all too familiar voice awakened the delight in her, replacing her fright.

"As clumsy as ever, aren't you, Rose?"

That voice… oh that voice. How she'd missed it so.

The snow shifted as she was gently placed back on both feet, being allowed to regain control of her legs. She gripped the handle of her basket with suspense. Her expression remained that of surprise as she slowly initiated a 180 to face the life form behind her.

… the ultimate life form.

" Shadow…" she muttered, in a trance like awe.

Intense crimson orbs stared deeply into her own, a warm salutation that evaluated her current state. His quills were thick and black, the tips retreating in an upward fashion with streaks of red. He stood, a head taller than the rose, his white chest fur as stainless as a blanket of snow.

"Good afternoon." His volume mimicked hers.

She blinked out of her trance, saved once again by his voice. She gave him a small smile.

"Are you… headed to Vanilla's house?"

He answered with a curt nod.

"We can walk together, if its not too much trouble."

He nodded once more, a ghost of a smile evident for a mere second before she began to lead the way down the path to Vanilla's villa.

The path was covered with a light frost, the orange and yellow trees a residential area for the light sleet. The sunlight was dissipating at a minuscule rate, fading ever so slightly. The two hedgehogs walked peacefully, one with a smile, the other with a his own version of peaceful, eyes closed, face relaxed, movement a leisure consisting of large strides. The rose kept her hands in front of her, clutching her basket cutely, red riding hood taking a stroll with the hunter.

The rose couldn't help but swim in her endless curiosity. Why had the ebony come from the trees near her house? Did he somehow live in the area? Or had he come from a mission in that relative direction? Other than that, how was he fairing? How had life treated him up until now? What did he do with his life? Had he found that... significant other?

She was very familiar with her ebony friend and knew not to bombard him with countless questions. It was important too remain calm if you didn't want to incur his verbal wrath. She calmed her free flowing thoughts and began with a harmless, subtle question.

"How are you, Shadow?" she asked, turning her head to him with a practiced look of contempt.

The ebony responded with the rebirth of his penetrating eyes as the lids fluttered open at the melodic question the lulled from the rose's lips. He turned his head to her with a slightly blank and baffled expression. How had he been? How was he feeling? He simply did not know. At least he had a difficult time expressing himself to her, the one hedgehog who left her emotions out on her sleeve for everyone to see. But he'd noticed the difference in her apparel. She no longer wore the truth as a breast plate to protect her. Her new facade was a real mask that clouded over her dreary thoughts and feelings. But he'd watched her create her mask over these three years... so he did not have to guess this...

"I am... fairing well, Rose. But what about you? You do not see your friends on a regular basis like before. What has changed?"

The rose seemed perplexed by his question. I guess that is what happens when your social skills are a little rusty.

It took her a moment to reply.

" I am... fine, I think. I've been a little busy so it's harder for me to see my friends. But what are friends for if you can't miss them, right?" She gave the ebony a close lipped smile with closed eyes, doing her best to remain optimistic and not relinquish the truth of her miserable, lonesome life. The day would only prove to be that much difficult if she did.

The ebony hedgie looked forward as the path continued, contemplating her response. He did not turn to her when he muttered his reply.

"I suppose you're right. But are you prepared for the reunion you are about to encounter?"

The rose's eyes light up in perspective, his statement echoing off the walls in her mind. Was she prepared? Everyone would be there. Sure she'd remained in contact with Cream, Rouge and Vanilla, but Tails and Knuckles were sure to be there. And where Vanilla was Vector was bound to be in addition to the rest of the Chaotix. Not only that, but a certain blue hedgehog and red headed princess were sure to take part in the spotlight where one existed. It's what every princess would want, publicity. It would make any girl feel like a star.

Her ears fell south, an expression of defeat following. She was not ready, she knew this for sure. But if she did not attend, her rabbit friend would be disappointed. Besides, she'd promised...

"I'm... not ready. Everything inside me knows it. I can't stand the thought of answering their questions... absorbing their expressions... accepting their hugs. I only know that if I don't suck it up and go to her party, I will only make my new reputation much, much worse. I can't afford to break any promises at this point," the rose murmured, slowing her footsteps to a stop as she glared defeatedly at the ground. The ebony then thanked Chaos for his supernatural hearing, for any normal Mobian would have struggled to hear the rose hedgehogs speech.

He stopped slightly ahead of the rose. He waited a moment... and then turned, walking in front her, taking hold of her upper arms.

"Rose... look at me, please."

"I can't..."

"Rose.."

"Please, Shadow. Just leave me be..."

"Amelia Rose, look at me!"

His tone was authoritative, but soft. The rose's head shot up slowly, emerald orbs wide with childish fright, bangs obscuring her vision as she gazed into the firm face of the ebony. She blushed at his closeness. She hadn't been in physical contact with a male in... quite a while.

The ebony brought one hand to lift her chin further upward and keep it in place.

"You have matured week enough to obtain your friends approval. Whether you believe it or see it is up to you."

Amy blinked.

"And you will not be alone. I too have not encountered the presence of the extent of our teammates in years. I will be near you every step of the way so do not act as if you are the weakest link. Do not be afraid... I am sure they will accept you and comfort you as you are now. That is their duty, is it not?" Shadow said this in a mere whisper as not to frighten the rose.

Her response came in the form of relaxed muscles. Her face was still defeated, but released it's former misery as she took in the common sense the ebony had to offer. He was right. They were her friends. She didn't have to be afraid. All they wanted was to see her and spend time with her. They wanted to bath her in warmth and care. She had nothing to be worried about.

"You're right. I'm.. so sorry. I... didn't mean to be so selfish. I-," the ebony shushed her rant with a finger to her lips.

"Do not apologize. It is not needed... if you are stable now let us continue on."

After a few more breaths to stabilize the rose's heart beat, she nodded her head and the ebony slowly released her. She took in a deep breath and let it go, regaining her patient and familiar facade, but it was much more stable and secure and ... real. Only half of the mask remained as the two face rose and ebony continued down the snowy speckled path.

After ten minutes of walking, they reached their destination. The rest of the their walk was lighthearted as the rose asked innocent questions and the ebony answered to the best of his ability within a limited amount of words. Although his responses were short, they were enough to satiate they rose that brightened with each piece of new information she received. She felt refreshed to speak with a friend again.

Vanilla's villa was placed a few yards away from where the forest stopped, the distance covered with plants on the right side of the path to her door and flowers on the left. How she'd kept her garden alive was a mystery, but it survived the frostbitten air as autumn took its course, flourishing in color. But I guess, if the team believed she had some sort of power it was to keep the life of the living running, no matter the weather. Her home was of a medium size with a second story. The base color of the house was an off white with a cream colored roofing. The chimney exhaled a steady grey smoke as the two companions continued their trek to Vanilla's door, watching the figures move in the window at the front cover with brown curtains.

At the porch, the rose hesitated, but eventually lifted her arm up to knock on the mahogany door. She stopped short of the door and looked back at the hedgie behind her. Shadow stood tall, looking down at her with half lidded eyes. He gave her a small nod, gesturing for her to go on. The rose sighed and initiated the knock to the door.

Noises of giggles and delight erupted as a result, a voice heard shouting, "I'll get it!"

The door was swung open, revealing a tall rabbit who looked to be nearing her forties, clad in a warm green victorian dress and a white apron. A motherly smile was placed gently on her face as she greeted her new guests.

"Oh, Amy. It's been too long, dear. And Shadow aren't you looking rather handsome this evening in the snow! Accompanying such a sweet hedgehog to a friends house to add to your gentleman status. Come in, you two! No need to be shy," Vanilla greeted warmly.

"It's nice to see you too, Vanilla," Amy stated contentedly, stepping inside the house where she was bombarded with noise and unexpected physical warmth.

"Thank you for inviting us, Vanilla," the ebony greeted, bowing slightly out of habit in respect to the rabbit as he stepped inside. Vanilla stopped him from further walking inside by putting a hand onto his shoulder. Her voice sounded through his ear, although she hadn't moved up nor turned to face him to become closer to his ear.

"We would have not wanted it any other way, Shadow."

Shadow, turned his head to where Vanilla had grabbed his shoulder, gazing at her. His face was thoughtful for a few heartbeats before he nodded to her. She let him go and he continued inside where Amy had taken off her boots next to the coat rack. Vanilla closed the door, following behind the two.

Amy sniffed the air, familiar and yet foreign to her all in one intake of breath. She removed her coat as Shadow came behind her, waiting. The two could hear the giggles of Cream and Tails and the frustrated growls on Knuckles. Only Chaos knows what they were doing to make him mad. Amy waited... took a deep breath, and continued into the living area of the house. Shadow followed right behind her.

As soon as they strode into the bright light of the dining room chandelier, they were greeted by a glorious sight. The long, brown dining room table was flourishing with gifts that adorned the center and special dining plates at each seat that were glossy with a floral design around the perimeter. On the left, across from the dining table was the living room, the couch facing the opposite direction of the table where a TV was brought to life playing a spanish novella. Rouge sat on the rocking chair in the corner with a mug in her hands, cuddled up with a quilt, rocking back and forth with her eyes closed. Cream was sitting on the floor, watching Knuckles and Tails play chess with bright eyes. She looked as if she'd been laughing really hard and trying not to burst out in uncontrollable giggles. Knuckles gazed at the board with scrunched up eyebrows, sweat trickling slowly down his face. Tails gazed at the board with ease and almost concern when he noticed Knuckles as he concentrated much to hard on the board. From Amy's view she saw saw the head of Vector and Espio, who sat on the couch watching the TV. Vector was sniffling for some reason and Espio sighed, probably because of Vector's pointless tears. Although Charmy could not be seen he was heard, laughing at Chaos knows what as he was presumably on the couch next to Vector. Knuckles moved a piece hesitantly, when Tails made his next move which ended with a "check mate" from the fox.

"Whhhhhyyyyy!" Knuckles exclaimed, throwing his arms up dramatically, gazing at the ceiling with anime tears in his eyes. Cream coughed a fit of giggles as Tails sweat dropped.

"Why did Ignacio have to cheat on his wife, huh? He knew she was a weak soul! He knew she would commit suicide! That heartless prick," was heard coming from Vector as he blew his nose.

"Vector, I'm pretty sure you don't even know what's going on. It's in Spanish, for Chaos' sake..." Espio sweat dropped.

Amy laughed at the animation of her friends, which caused an odd chain reaction.

Cream looked up, and shouted, "Amy!"

She scrambled up from her position on the floor, running to her former best friend in and attempt to hug her.

But on her way, she tripped on the TV remote that was imbedded in the carpet. This caused the already standing Tails to scream his girlfriends name and run to catch her.

Rouge, startled from her peace, jumped a bit, causing her mug fly from her hands and onto her poor victim...

Knuckles shot up at the sound of Amy's name just as Tails caught his girlfriend from her fall. Knuckles had noticed Rouge had been startled and turned to see if she was alright only to be pelted with a mug and hot chocolate.

The Chaotix turned from their position on the couch to see her with bright, expectant expressions. Knuckles ran in circles yelling"Hot! Hot! It's hot!"

The resulting picture was definitely worth the history books...

"Hey everyone. It's been a while, hasn't it."

Cream blushed as she looked up at her boyfriend who put her back up on her feet and steadied her. She walked up to Amy and gave her a tight hug.

"Amy! I've missed you so much!" Cream muffled under Amy's shirt.

"I've.. missed you too, Cream," She stated, hugging her back with a content smile on her face.

"SOMEBODY HELP ME, PLEASE!" Knuckles ran around the room, accidentally stepping on Vector's long tail that flowed down and off the couch, onto the floor. Neither of his team mates bothered to ease his pain.

"Yaaaawoooo!" Vector clutched his tail, crying much more then when he was watching the novella.

Rouge grabbed hold of her flailing boyfriend, throwing a cold, wet towel over him.

"Aaaahhhh... Thanks."

"No problem, Knucky-kun," Rouge winked, heading over to Amy and Cream who had stopped hugging.

"I'm glad you came, hun," Rouge leisurely hugged Amy. Amy smiled and returned the favor, admiring the warm maroon tight sweater she wore. They were complimented with a pair of dark jeans and thick maroon socks. And although she wasn't wearing them, Amy had the hunch that the designer brown heeled boots she saw by the coat rack completed Rouge's outfit. Her make up was dark, but not overdone, with different shades of brown.

"I wanted to see all of you. I don't get to see everyone as often as before." Rouge let her go, grabbing her shoulders and looking into her eyes.

"Well, we all love you more than you can imagine. Never doubt that, hun." Amy nodded in response, gazing into her eyes with a smile.

Knuckles walked up to them, a silly and yet brotherly smile perch on his face as Rouge pulled away from Amy. Amy and Knuckles just stood there for a moment, reading each other. Then Knuckles held out on of his fists.

"Put her there, Amy," Knuckles said.

With a familiar smile and giggle, Amy fist bumped Knuckles and executed their own special "secret handshake" with a series of step moves and an odd version of the jazz fingers at the end. The whole group laughed at them.

Tails joined the group, giving Amy a hug to greet her.

"It feels like I haven't seen you in ages, Amy," Tails stated, his voice quite a bit deeper, but still young and slightly raspy. He remained bashful in a mature sort of way, a light blush lighting his features.

"I know. The last time I saw you, you were below my shoulder!"

Rouge greeted Shadow with her usual "how's my old partner doing," giving him a pat on the back. He nodded to her, muttering that he was in good health. When Rouge opened him up a bit, the group that had gathered around the rose and the ebony gave all there attention to him. He gave them his natural fierce look, gazing deep into each of their eyes, greeting them in his own way. And then he spoke.

"It's nice to see everybody well and satisfied. It's... been quite a while. And... happy birthday, Cream," he stated, which is probably his maximum word count for the night. Cream blushed and said thank you before she was given her present from Amy, the basket in which she held gingerly in both hands.

"I tried to keep them as warm as possible. I hope you enjoy them," Amy whispered into Cream's ear as she passed her the gift. Cream trotted away, setting the wrapped basket in the center with all the other gifts, happily twirling in her long sleeved blue dress.

The party commenced once again.

Everyone went back to their former positions, Knuckles wanting a rematch, Cream enjoying the game, Rouge keeping warm with a new mug of hot cocoa, and the Chaotix continuing to watch the novella in which they could not understand.

Amy smiled warmly at the sight, turning to head to the kitchen where Vanilla was hard at work trying to prepare the feast. Shadow, not sure where he was welcomed, followed the rose into the kitchen with the hope of keeping her company.

As Amy entered the kitchen, her ears came in contact with the frustrated groans of Vanilla. She saw the older rabbit bent over the stove trying to stir something. Shadow followed behind the rose, entering the square kitchen with caution. All he heard where the clanging of pots and frustrated mutterings that came from Vanilla. Amy giggled at the sight of Vanilla trying to stir, cut meat and open a can of green beans all at the same time. This caught the rabbit's attention.

"Oh! Amy dear, is there something you need?" Vanilla asked, turning to face the two as she ceased her multi tasking.

"When Cream called the other evening, I had made a promise that I'd help cook," the rose replied with a wholehearted smile, bending forward to take the can opener from Vanilla's hand.

Vanilla wiped the sweat from her forehead, smiling exhaustedly at the rose.

"Thank you, dear.. I have become rather tired from the days events. I suppose I'll go and rest on the couch for a spell. Are you sure you won't need any help though?"

"She has my help to acquaint her."

Vanilla eyed the ebony hedgehog that had spoken, smiling up to him and nodding.

"Very well. The turkey is in the oven already and the chicken is in need of cutting. If you need further assistance, please don't be afraid to ask."

With that, Vanilla left the kitchen to sit with Vector on the couch and rest.

Amy walked up to the heated stove to see it burning a full pot of rice. Without a second thought, she grabbed the handle, pouring the burning mixture into the sink across the kitchen. She added more water to the pot, returning it to the stove to be reheated. With one fluid motion, she scooted the fully cooked chicken, that was on the counter by the stove, aside and placed all the cans of green beans in a line. She swiftly used the can opener to pop open all of them, pouring them into another pot for cooking. She then pulled open the compartment below the oven to obtain what she needed to steam the vegetables that were in a strainer in the sink, wet and sanitized.

This was her domain, the kitchen. No one could break her focus nor her delight as she dominated the fixtures and intricacies of the stove, the oven and the knives. This is were she fit best in the puzzle she felt she did not belong. Shadow leaned his back onto the corner of two counters, cooly closing his eyes with his ears low, letting the noise of the kitchen lull him into a thoughtless trance. His ears twitched with each and every nuance the rose conducted in her kitchen symphony as he crossed his arms and relaxed.

All seemed to run in sync as the rose stirred a bowl of cornbread batter. But the peace was too soon severed.

The doorbell rang.

The house fell silent. No one had rung the doorbell when arriving. Everyone else had knocked.

It rang again.

The rose stiffened… she knew whom waited at the foot of the door.

It rang thrice more.

The ebony cracked an eye open to examine the frozen rose. She was no longer stirring her mixture.

"I'll get it."

Vanilla passed the kitchen, opening the front door to welcome the last of the guests…

The future king and queen of castle Acorn.

"Vanilla! Long time no see!" the voice of Sonic resonated throughout the house.

"It's nice to once again indulge in the decent pleasantries of you're tiny house. I hope our presence makes your home feel much more glamorous and fulfilling, Mistress Vanilla," the voice of the Acorn princess followed Sonic's from the door.

" M-make yourselves at home, your highnesses."

Their foot steps were long and seemed to last forever as they strode down the hallway. She continued to stir with a hurried and anxious passion. This was the only way she could redeem herself at this point. He could not look down to her if she managed to please him with her cooking. Shadow had closed his eyes once more at the sound of her continued labor. The rest of the house followed suit, continuing their loud speaking and chatting, but with a hint of halfheartedness.

The blue blur reached the kitchen first. The rose seemed to hold her breath. He waited at the front of the kitchen entrance, contemplating his contrivance.

"Hmmm. what's cooking?" the blue blur questioned. All he saw was the back of the rose as she worked.

"Well, whatever it is, it smells good enough for me to eat," he said, leaving the kitchen entrance to greet his other companions.

The shoulders and ears of the rose fell south, her face contorted in shame. Her heart had no more pieces to break so she couldn't say that she was heartbroken. He'd ignored her like she never even existed…

The princess strode in next, clad in dark blue sweater with white fur hemming… everything, expensive dark jeans with a diamond belt and her traditional blue boots. She wore her larger than average engagement ring on a chain around her neck, claiming a while back that it was so big and extravagant that it weighed down her fingers. She placed her hands on her hips, acknowledging the rose with a smug grin, laughing lightly.

"So I see. Amy Rose is cooking tonight. How… charming," Sally hissed vehemently.

Amy turned, defeat keeping her from becoming angry and lashing out at the rude princess of Acorn. She sighed.

"It's nice to see you too, Sally."

"That's Princess Sally to you. Or Your Highness works."

"Yes, because the pathetic fur on your useless body glistens and shines so extravagantly in the sun's light that anyone would pay a fortune to assassinate and skin you, wearing your hideous pelt as a sash or cape to help them become the perfect target in battle."

It wasn't Amy who said that.

"EXCUSE ME?!" Sally screeched, glaring icily at the ebony. The rose turned to look at him, a confused amazement in her eyes. The ebony continued.

"That was a satirical compliment, Your Highness. I thought you were smart enough to at least comprehend that much. Unless… you aren't as high and mighty as many may presume."

"I do not have to listen to this tom foolery!"

"Then by all means, depart, your highness. No one is stopping you. Unless you do not know how to leave a situation such as this.."

"I…!" Sally stoped, not sure how to reply. She's already made somewhat of a fool of herself. She blushed with a look of frustration.

"Tongue tied, Princess?"

"Ugh! Do not play with me, you faker! I can destroy you with a simple snap of my fingers, you hear!"

"Then commence. Do not hesitate to destroy an immortal being that has never been out of commission."

"Hmph!"

And with that, the rodent of Acorn strode out of the kitchen, tail held high as she met with the rest of the houses guests.

The ebony sighed. He had not wanted to deal with her today, but chaos knows that was inevitable. The rose glanced at the ebony gratefully.

"Thank you, Shadow." The rose was sincere and yet somewhat upset as her ears were down. The ebony nodded. Neither knew why Sally was so uptight when it came to Amy. She'd grown to be that way after she reunited with Sonic. Maybe it was something Sonic had said. She continued to stir with the pace of a dying sloth as misery encased her.

The ebony push away from the counter with his back, coming behind the rose and extending his arms to come around her. Overlapping his hands over hers, he began to stir the mixture with vigor as the rose held onto the bowl and spoon, blushing like there was no tomorrow.

"S-shadow… what are you…" She was interrupted.

"If you do not feel well, I can take your place as cook," the ebony intervened.

"Oh! Well that won't be necessary! I can finish it."

With that, Amy placed the bowl on the counter and grabbed a knife to continue cutting the chicken, releasing herself from Shadow's hold. Though, when she tried to get the knife through the first slice, she struggled. It took her a whole two minutes to cut a simple piece. Shadow sweat dropped behind her as he had seen the display. He once again positioned him self directly behind her, chest fur tickling her back as he reached around her to gingerly grab her hands. The rose turned from pink to red, which she hoped the ebony could not see.

"Let me help you."

With not a single ounce of a struggle, the ebony used the rose's hands to cut the chicken like butter into decent slices in under a minute. After he'd finished, the rose glanced at the beautiful display of cut slices as they lay against each other on the cutting board. She was amazed. How had he done that?

She turned to look at his face while still being held in his slight embrace. He looked down to her as her curiosity fell across her face along with her blush.

"Where did you learn to cut meat so well?" she asked.

"While on ARK, I was infused with a culinary program. Although, I have yet to put it to good use."

The rose was once again delighted. She turned to look up at him again, excitement in her eyes.

"Can you do more?"

He nodded, grabbing her waist and scooting her to the side. He cracked his knuckles before he began his magic, a serious glint running across his eyes.

Shadow became a blur as he cut some scraps of the chicken and threw all the slices onto a large fancy plate. He stirred the rice and the green beans, then swiftly pulled out all the fruit from the fridge. He cut the fruit in thirty seconds, tossing them into a strainer, rinsing them off and creating a bowl of fruit salad. He then pulled out lettuce, tomatoes, spinach and a few other items. He cut those in no time and placed a new bowl full of normal salad to the side along with bowls of ranch and other dressings.

The oven made a ding and Shadow pulled out the turkey, tasting a piece and adding a lick of salt and pepper, sticking a knife in it for whoever wished to partake in it. He pushed the turkey platter to the side, putting the finished rice, green beans and steamed vegetables in bowls and throwing them onto the opposite counter with all of the other food items. Amy gazed in amazement as the plates and bowls of perfected food landed gracefully onto one counter, seeming to sparkle and shine so much that just looking at it made anyone's mouth water. The rose was so entranced that she'd missed watching the ebony bake the cornbread. She saw him throw the platter of cornbread, cut into squares, land next to the vegetables along with a bowl of potato salad and two bottles of wine. The ebony washed his hands in the sink, and headed over to his finished work, grabbing hold of the counter, He closed his eyes, focussing…

"Choas… Control!"

Amy shielded her eyes from the flash of emerald green. When she could see again, she noticed that all the food had left the counter. She knowingly ran out of the kitchen, toward the dining room table where she halted. Emerald eyes sparkling, she giggled and clapped, blushing at the site. All the food was place elegantly across the table and Shadow stood to the side, one arm behind his back, the other bent at a ninety degree angle with a towel along the forearm, like a butler. He bowed.

"Dinner …is severed."

With Amy's applause came the excited voices of her friends as they popped up from their places in the living room. They all took seats at the table, including the royal couple. They all continued their chatter as they passed around bowls of food, serving each other.

The rose stared at the scene, feeling detached to the extent she felt as if she were floating above their heads, out of site, out of mind. But there was two seats there for her and Shadow, in between Rouge and Espio. It was not as if she were not welcomed. She was simply alienating herself, in a way.

The rose turned to her shoes be the coat rack. Pushing her feet into them, she went through the back door of the house, heading into the cold to think.

~aAa~

The back of Vanilla's home was a simple porch made of cement. A few plants in decorative pots and a brown rocking chair covered in some snow were all that adorned the porch. Amy took the steps down from the porch onto the grass. Vanilla's backyard was just a couple of yards of a clearing and then the trees of the forest continued where the clearing stopped. About twenty five steps from the porch was a tree in the middle of the clearing, with a makeshift swing made of rope and wooden plank. Amy headed over to the swing, taking a seat on the plank, swinging lightly as she gazed across the clearing into the trees. The sun was close to disappearing. Twenty more minutes or so…

The rose began to think. Or reason with her self, for lack of a better term. If Sonic didn't want to acknowledge her existence any longer, so be it. She would still acknowledge him and give him her support, but she would not be upset any longer. She was older now, much more independent. A fighter. She would not feel defeated because she no longer could compete for his love, but be willing to gain his friendship…right?

Oh, who was she kidding. It'd never be the same. He'd get married, become king, have kids, go on vacations with his family, have grand children… get old.

And what would happen to her? Would she live and die alone?

She honestly saw no other option at this point. She simply felt alone, no matter the attention she finally obtained from her friends.

But she could not be alone forever. No, she would not have it…

Suddenly, the rose's ears twitched from the sound of footsteps crunching against the snow. Before she could turn to see the intruders, hands pulled the ropes of the swing back and pushed forward. Amy held on, allowing the swing to take her. When she came back, she saw Rouge wave in front of her and heard Cream's giggles behind her. The rose used her feet to stop the swing, smiling at her friends.

"We came to check on you," Cream said, trotting in front of Amy.

"I see. But shouldn't you guys be inside, enjoying the feast?" The rose wasn't expecting her best friends company.

"It's not the same without you, Amy!" Cream exclaimed.

"It's extremely awkward, especially when all you hear talking is little Princess Acornhead and her fiancé. No one wants to tell them to shut up," Rouge explained.

"We'd rather be outside with you!" Cream hopped lightly.

"I'm flattered. You guys haven't changed at all. Still my best friends in every way."

The rabbit and the bat nodded.

"And you still have that heart shaped birthmark on the back of your right ear." Rouge's statement made Amy laugh.

"And you're still as observant as ever. A spy in all her entirety. How are you and Knuckles?"

"We're doing great. He's as goofy as ever. The other day I came home from a little shopping trip and he was sitting on the couch with a bowl of bacon and ice cream, watch a novella without subtitles. And he was crying of all the things he could have been doing. And right after that, he took a jog around the block and came back with a lawnmower he apparently bought from a garage sale around the block. He used the engine to power a go kart that he had in the garage. Only chaos knows where he got it from. Then he drove it down the street and crashed it into a ditch not five minutes later."

Cream and Amy laughed at the story of Knuckles foolery. That's what they'd loved about the echidna. He was hotheaded and strong, but brotherly, loyal and goofy at the same time.

"What about you and Tails, Cream? I know that you two are a new couple." Amy eyes the blushing bunny.

"We're just really new to this love thing. But he seems to know what he's doing. He takes me to my favorite flower shop when he goes to buy parts for his inventions and he teaches me how to put things together. He even lets me watch disney movies in his room at night. I can't be away from him. I love him too much to stay away."

"I see. Maybe I should leave you two alone more often…" Rouge muttered coyly.

"N-no! That's not… I mean… maybe…ummm" Cream stuttered, obviously flustered in the cutest way.

"Don't tease her too much, Rouge. You know you were the same when you first started dating Knuckles. He was your everything: your man, your shopping buddy, your hero, your life sized pillow to spoon at night. You couldn't keep your hands off him," the rose added to the conversation.

"Well, at least I'm not getting intimate with the ultimate life form in the kitchen…" Rouge muttered.

"What!?"

"You heard me. I saw how he held you, teaching you his culinary skills. And you did nothing to stop him. I say your getting the hots for ol' doom and gloom."

"Rouge. That's the dumbest thing I've heard all day. There's no way Shadow would even come close to liking me. I'd be wasting my time with him."

"But who's to say he doesn't have the hots for you, huh? Think about it!"

"Okay, okay. I get it. You guys should go inside. Everyone must be worried. I'll come in a moment."

"Alright. But just think about it!"

And then bat and the rabbit returned to the house.

And so the rose sits, thoughtful in the best way, her friends rekindling the happiness and hope within her. They'd healed her, taking away the last of her mask. She was complete in herself. Now she had to build a life for herself. But where could she need to start?

Just as she thought that, hands snaked across her own that held onto the ropes of the swing, a tuff of chest fur touching the back of her hair. The chin of her new intruder fell upon her head, gazing down in her general direction with half lidded orbs. Her heartbeat quickened, a blush making itself know across her muzzle.

"Do not be alarmed, Rose. I have come to retrieve you."

His voice was silken and deep, soft as if she were a precious and delicate flower that the ebony grew himself.

"Oh. I was… j-just about to go inside. Is everyone alright?"

"They are fairing. That faker and his fiancé are making a verbal mess of things, but other than that, everyone is concerned about you. You should come in and eat before you catch a cold or die of starvation. It would be extremely disheartening to know you died from malnutrition."

The rose giggled at his concern.

"What is so funny?" The ebony was confused.

"Heehee. You are, Mr. Doom n' Gloom! You're so extreme. It's… refreshing in a way." The rose continued to giggle.

"I… Am glad you think so." He was thankful she could not see his blush from the angle the remained in.

They stayed that way for a while, enjoying each others company. They would swing slightly, both of which had their eyes closed as the sun finally closed its shining eye at the closing of the day.

"This is very peaceful," the ebony stated.

"It sure is."

Boom….

A low thudding explosion erupted seemingly somewhere in the sky. Shadow's ears twitched then arched in the direction of the sound, his head poping up, eyes scanning the sky. Amy was startled from her peace by the noise. Looking up to greet the possible threat in the sky.

… But they saw nothing.

Shadow was not fooled. His body tensed in expectancy, fingers tightening around the roses hands as a low thud shook the ground. An odd calm before the storm…

And then it emerged from the trees…

A tall robot came smashing through, stopping to run a beam of red light from it's head across the clearing.

Shadow grabbed the rose's waist, pulling her up front the swing into a bridal style hold in one fluid motion. He jumped backwards as the rose held onto his neck, jumping high enough to land on Vanilla's back porch as all the inhabitants from inside came scattering out.

"Oh my! What is that!" Vanilla shouted, frightened.

Shadow set Amy down, standing somewhat in front of her. The robots red beam stopped in front of the group of heroes and eventually retracted back into the robot. A monotone voice echoed across the clearing.

"I. HAVE. COME. FOR. THE. PRINCESS."

The ebony glared at the offending robot, tensed for action.

"Stay here, Rose.

Sorry I had to end it here! The action was just about to start! but at least you know that at the beginning of the next chapter, there will be a battle! And a novella is short for a tellanovella which is a spanish drama which is well.. in spanish. Hope you like!

R&R (Please)


	3. In Rose Territory

In Third Person

Chapter 2: Through Rose Territory

"Stay here, Rose"

She gazed at the firm back of the ebony hedgehog, eyes glistening with fright. Was he really going to take that thing on, one on one?

She didn't fear the robot. She had long since gotten over her fear of the mechanical enemy due to her extensive experience in fighting them. No. She feared for the safety of her friends, the safety of her family... the safety of the ebony.

"Is that... an Eggman robot?"

The rose gazed to her left where the rest of her friends examined the threat. It was Knuckles who'd asked, standing in a battle stance, fists raised. His gaze was... confused to say the least as he stood in between Sonic and Tails. Sally, Cream and Rouge were all perched behind them. The Chaotix stood even further behind them, ready. Vector was in front of Vanilla who was partially through the door; hand on her mouth, fearful of the robots possible destruction to her home. Charmy and Espio were positioned, the chameleon's arms crossed, the bee flying, at Vector's flanks, ready for action.

No. He would not fight alone.

"I'm... not sure. It doesn't follow any of Eggman's common designs, nor his style. And doesn't he put his insignia on them? I don't see his stamp on this one," Tails inquired, using his watch to pull up an analysis on the robot after scanning the bot from a distance, his watch a virtual computer on his arm. He tapped on the virtual screen, face determined.

"Well, whoever its creator is, it better be prepared to play! Man, I haven't fought one of these in a while. C'mon guys, let's teach this bot a lesson," Sonic chirped with a smirk, dashing forward to meet the robot head on.

"Sonic, be careful! I haven't detected a weakness on it yet! Oh boy. He never listens..." Tails shouted, defeated.

"That's Sonic for you. Thinks everything's a game. I guess we just follow his lead then. Rouge, stay here. We'll handle this," the echidna sighed, cracking his knuckles and rushing off to the battlefield.

"What! But... I can fight! You need me!" Rouge shouted to her knuckle headed partner. She sighed in defeat.

"Ugh.. If only patience existed somewhere between the two of them and I could gather enough information to tackle this robot in ten seconds flat. Never mind. Stay with Rouge and Amy, Cream. This shouldn't take too long," Tails said, dismissing his watch and flying out to join his teammates.

"But.. Wait! Tails, I can ... help..." Cream's shout diminished as her boyfriend grew smaller. She sighed.

"Go get 'em, boys. I'll stay here to protect Vanilla and her home in case that bot gets too close," Vector commanded, gently pushing a worried Vanilla back inside the house, closing the door.

"Yes sir," the two remaining Chaotix members said in unison, charging out to meet the threat like the rest.

"Shadow," Amy whispered, reaching her hand out to touch his shoulder. Although he'd told her to stay where she was, he hadn't left to fight like the others.

The ebony looked back at the rose as her hand perched on his shoulder. She gave him her wavering gaze and he gave her his closed, focused eyes. When he opened them, he revealed to her the emotion that was coursing through him, which he rarely did for anyone. That contagious emotion of... hope.

The rose's heart stopped.

The ebony turned, using the end of the porch to launch himself toward the battlefield, air skates blazing, heart throbbing, snow flying, determination set.

As the ebony neared the robot, a bubbly, purple and metal arm came slashing down to interrupt his charge. It came, flying past the ebony as he dodged the arm with ease, skating around Knuckles whom ran to punch a hole into the robots hand, only leaving a large dent as the hand came up to swat at it's chest. The bee kicked at the robots leg, stinging it as the chameleon through his weapons in areas he thought were weak. Near it's torso was a spinning blue orb, Sonic initiating his famous spin dash in hopes he could cut through the robots interior, but failing, perching on it's shoulder in exhaustion.

The robot was a tall, black and silver with glowing neon purple streaks coursing through it like they were veins. It's head resembled a war helmet from the middle ages, only a set of glowing purple eyes visible from the eye area from under the helmet, the rest shaded black and unknown. Its shoulders were rounded as if the robot were muscular, arms and legs a similar design. The bots chest was also rounded, a large hole glowing purple at the center. It's feet were block shaped like the bottom of two buildings.

"Man! You are one tough guy. Woah, careful buddy! Swatting flies off you shoulder can be pretty tricky!" Sonic exclaimed, hopping from it's shoulder to it's head as it's arm came up to crush the blue on it's shoulder. The impact caused the robot to dislodge it's own arm from it's shoulder. Tails flew by it's arm as it slowly crunched when it hit the ground with a low, satisfying thudding noise.

As the bot went to swat at it's head the blue blur jumped, landing on the ground near Shadow. The ebony glared at him.

"This isn't a game, faker. If we do not dismember this robot quickly, it could destroy Vanilla's home and those who reside in it!"

"I got ya, Shad! No need to get your panties in a twist." And with that, Sonic speed off, distracting the robot as he dodged it's ground smashing attacks with it's remaining hand.

The ebony growled, summoning his chaos energy to release on the robot's arm.

"Chaos spear!"

A metallic rip was heard as the bots other arm came crashing down to the ground below. Shadow and Knuckles jumped out of the way. A shout of victory was heard from Tails, who was in the air, ray gun in hand, and Charmy.

But their cheers were in vain.

A shudder erupted through the air as the missing parts of the robot materialized out of thin air, this times his arms made from a skinnier silver material.

The kitsune, the bee, the chameleon and the echidna looked up at the robot in shock. The blue blur muttered a curse, finally realizing the true danger of the situation. The ebony gazed at the threat with a hard, angered face.

With a fierce force, the robots arm came swiping across the ground, much faster than the ebony had expected. In his attempt to dodge the offending hand, he lunged to the side only to be smacked by the hand into the neighboring woods. He crashed, leaving a trail of broken trees and a large dent in the ground. He grunted as he emerged from the flying debris of dirt and snow, looking up at the threat in the distance, determined to rip it to shreds, incinerate it and send its ashes to hell.

~aAa~

With the departure of the ebony came the restart of Amy's heart. She'd never witnesses... that side of the ebony. Had his open emotions always been there... like that?

"Hmp. I can't believe they told us to stay here! I mean, we are the better half," Rouge pouted, muttering loud enough for her female companions to hear.

"Ohh. I Hope Tails is okay. That robot looks tough," Cream sighed with worry.

"Maybe they need a tactician. I think I'll go and participate in this battle," Sally said.

"Do you even own a bit of common sense? That robot said it came for the princess and the closest person with that title is you. If you go out there without decent back up, you'll just be giving it what it wants," Rouge growled at the princess of Acorn.

"I'm a hero to my people! I will no just stand here and do nothing while an offender threatens to demolish my kingdom!"

"But Sally, what if you get captured? We aren't even sure this is one of Eggman's robots. What if we can't find you? What if you never come back? Mr. Sonic would be devastated," Cream tried to give Sally a few ideas to chew on to change her mind. Although she was no longer fond of the princess, she didn't wish any harm on her highness.

"Exactly! And then you'll not only be a hero to your kingdom, but a failure. Is that what you want?"

"Stop! I know what I'm doing," Sally commanded, pushing past Rouge to go back into the house.

"Ugh! " Rouge moved to sit on the edge of the porch, watching the battle with bored eyes. Cream walked to the edge of the porch, now between the sitting Rouge and the standing Amy. She looked down to Rouge and then up to Amy.

The rose stared intensely at the current battle, eyes glistening emerald as her clasped hands remained in prayer position. Every smash and crash had the rose on edge as her heart beat erratically.

"Amy? Are you alright?"

The rose turned her head to the bunny, smiling whole heartedly.

"I'm okay, Cream. I just," she looked back at the battle, "want to find a way to help."

"Maybe we could be helping if the guys hadn't glued us to this porch..." Rouge muttered, ears folded back.

"Well, I don't know too much about robots or how they work. The closest I've gotten was changing the battery to the toy robot Tails made for me, and even that was a challenge. They batteries just didn't want to fit-," Cream's voice was tuned out from Amy's head as a thought came crashing through her like an avalanche.

A battery! The robot runs on some sort of power source! Even if it's not a battery, if we find it and cut off one of the wires that run in the robots circuits, the robot will shut down!

As the rose came back to her senses to alert her friends of her discovery, a noise from the battle caught her attention. She came to in just enough time to see the ebony being smacked into the forest by the new arms of the robot. She watched, holding her breath as the ebony crashed into the trees with a deadly velocity, shaking the ground as he was pelted into the ground.

Both the bat and the bunny stared at where the ebony had landed in shock.

"That's it! I'm going to go help, whether they like it or not!" Rouge stood on the porch ready to charge into battle.

"Wait! We can't help them on the battle front. That's not where we're needed," the rose exclaimed, stopping the bat with a hand on her shoulder. The bat gazed at her friend, recognizing the formation of a plan in her eyes.

"What do you have in mind, Amy?"

The rose looked at both of her best friends, asking them for their trust.

"I'll explain as we go."

The rose led her partners into the clear night of the forest to walk a path around the battle to the back end of the robot, where the rose felt they were needed.

~aAa~

"Man, this guy just won't budge!"

Sonic and Knuckles, who were formerly back to back, battling the robots arms, separated in a haste to dodge the arm that meant to crush both of them at the same time. As the two flew through the air, they went to attacking the stationary arms, that were in the ground where they formerly stood. But within four seconds the arms came from out of the ground to smack an annoying bee and kitsune from the air. Both flying fiends dodged the arms with agility like no other, but they were growing tired. They were bruised and sweat ridden.

The ebony, returning from his catastrophic plunder, emerged from the trees with a death wish written in his eyes for the bot. When he was at a decent distance from the bot, he charged up another chaos attack.

"CHAOS-"

The sounding of his voice alerted the robot, as it turned its head to the ebony as it continued to occupy the others. It took one of it's arms, palm outstretched as if to guard itself from the offending blast, and transformed the hand into a large cannon.

"BLAST!"

A burst of chaos energy erupted from the ebony's body, shaking the ground and seemingly entering the cannon part of the robot, as if it had absorbed the blast without feeling the repercussions.

The ebony gazed at the bot with genuine confusion and a bit of caution for the robot had not removed its arm from his presence.

And in two seconds flat, the robots arm cannon began to glow purple and shot an energy blast right back at Shadow, who could not escape the entirety of the blast as he jumped out of the way.

He emerged from the ground with a frustrated growl, his ears twitching at the sound of a ... battle cry?

"Aaaaahhh!"

Sally came forward, riding her horse onto the battlefield, emerging from the side of the house where she retrieved her stallion. The horse galloped forward as the princess held a sword over her head. With both the princesses hair and the horses mane taken with the wind they charged, ready for anything.

"I KNOW YOU'RE HERE FOR ME, FIEND! NOW COME AND GET ME!"

The team that fought on the field had all given Sally their attention as soon as her battle cry rang about the clearing. Sonic looked terrified as his fiancé gallivanted through the light snow, in the sights of the threat.

"Sally! Get out of here!" Sonic shouted erratically.

She couldn't hear him, for the robot merely aimed it's cannon toward the princess, firing what was left of the former chaos blasts three times. The third shot hit the horses legs, dismounting the princess and making her fly several feet across the clearing into a pile of fallen leaves and sleet. She went unconscious as she tumbled across the clearing, the wind being knocked out of her with the impact.

"SALLY!"

"Give. Me. The. Princess. Or. Suffer."

The robots order put the battle back into action as an enraged Sonic initiated several homing attacks to the robots interior. The robot was faster this time though, smashing Sonic like a fly, pealing his body off his chest and flicking him to the ground below. He hit the ground with a deadly crunch, breathing heavy, struggling to get up.

Shadow examined the state of the battle.

A war cry from Knuckles was heard as he charged for the robot, latching onto its hand and crawling up it's arm to do some damage and end this battle. Tails flew around the head, blasting his ray gun and dodging the robots swatting hands as Charmy tried to sting the bot into submission. Espio was running over to Sally to check for a pulse. Sonic was smashed into the ground.

Maybe they'd rushed into this battle too quickly...

~aAa~

"So basically, we just need to pull the robots plug," Rouge questioned as she stepped over a tree root, a low thudding emitting from the battle around them.

"Pretty much. We just need to find it's main source of power and disconnect a few wires. Then, the circuits within the robot will go incomplete and the robot should shut down. If it doesn't, we'll just need to either destroy the battery or head for the brain of the robot which might have a back up source," Amy explained.

"Sounds easy enough. But, what if neither of those ideas work?"

Amy stopped, looking behind herself to Rouge. She smiled.

"Then we'll just have to hope for the intervention of Chaos himself."

As they held each others gazes, a cry was heard along with three thudding blasts that shook the ground and lit the forest around them for a few split seconds. Amy turned, continuing her leading. Rouge crossed her arms with a smirk, standing in her place as Cream caught up to her.

"What's wrong, Rouge?" the bunny asked, concerned.

"She's definitely grown up, Cream. She's more herself than she's ever been," Rouge's gaze lingered on the traveling rose.

"We should catch up. C'mon, Rouge," Cream jogged to the rose, the bat following close by.

They reached the backside of the robot, which was oddly quiet considering the destruction occurring on the battlefront. The females looked upward, contemplating the climb with near terror.

"It's sooo high up," Cream muttered.

"We need a visual. Can one of you fly up and see if you can find an opening into the robot?" Amy asked.

"I'll go!" Cream exclaimed. Using her ears, she took to the sky, gliding safely to a ledge on the robots boxed leg. She slipped a bit when landing, but caught herself as she leaned on the metal leg for support. Her heart thudded in her chest as she looked down. She forgot she was afraid of heights.

"Be careful! We'll be here to catch you if you need it."

The reassuring message from Rouge and the smile from Amy allowed her to go on. Climbing the length of the robots leg and using her ears to propel her little body upward, Cream continued on to the butt of the robot. Her shoulder length wavy hair whipped in the breezed, flying across her face as the breeze made her shiver.

She reached the top half of the butt, standing on the ledge with bent knees as to keep her balance. She squinted to see the square shape that was cut into the robot, drilled shut at the corners. She walked up to it, pulling at the edges in an attempt to open it. She had a screwdriver with her because her boyfriend said it was always handy in situations such as these. She grabbed it from her dress pocket and proceeded to fit it into the screws... but the tool wouldn't fit the bolt.

She examined the bolts and noticed she hadn't recognized the shape of the bolt at all, considering she's seen so many different ones in her boyfriend's workshop. It was alien to her. It was in the shape of three separate triangles, obviously meant for a special tool. She sighed, leaning over the edge to call to her companions.

"Amy! I found an opening! But I can't open it!"

Down below, Amy looked at Rouge.

"Mind giving me a lift?" Amy asked.

Rouge smirked. "It'd be my pleasure."

After getting a good grip around Amy's waist, Rouge thrust upward outstretching her wings to catch the air. She flapped them harder than normal, for she not only had extra weight, but the breeze was killer that high up.

Amy was let go of as Rouge landed on the ledge. Cream was looking at the square cut out bolted to the bot with worry when they came to her. She looked to them.

"I don't know what kind of bolt this is. It's foreign to me."

Rouge examined it, frustration appearing on her face suddenly. She reached into her shirt, pulling something from her cleavage. Cream and Amy looked to her as is she were crazy, but switched to gazes of curiosity as Rouge fiddled with a gadget that had multiple mini tools folded into it.

"This robot is definitely not Eggman's. It's probably from some alien planet to have bolts like these," Rouge thought aloud, flicking one of the folded tools from the gadget, pulling off a tool that looked like a laser pointer.

"Let's hope this works."

Rouge pointed the gadget in front of one of the bolts. A green laser beamed from the pointer to the bolt, the end of the laser forming itself to fit the crevices of the bolt. The laser solidified as Rouge smirked. She turned the bolt swiftly, hearing a satisfying clank as the bolt hit the metal ledge. She proceeded to do that to the rest as fast as possible, freeing the metal cut out and revealing to them a large, glowing energy source and a thousand interconnected wires with purple energy flowing throughout.

"Wow. Who knew your boyfriends gadgets would work on alien technology. He must be that smart, huh." Rouge looked from her gadget to Cream who blush and then... pouted.

"Tails made that for you? Why didn't he give me one?" she muttered, looking down at her useless one size screw driver.

Rouge shrugged as Amy reached into the clog of wires, getting zapped as she touched one of the wires.

"Ouch. Hey, do you happen to have something to disconnect these wires?" Amy asked Rouge.

As Rouge fiddled with her gadget, Cream to the liberty to see if her screwdriver could be put to better use. She pulled back her hand and threw her screwdriver toward the energy source like a dart. The sound of glass breaking startled the group of girls who shielded their faces during the impact. They coughed, opening their eyes.

The battery's glow diminished as a purple smoke emitted from it into the sky. The energy that coursed within the wires slowed and they turned grey. The whiz sound that signified that functioning of the robot began to slow and diminish.

"We did it!" Cream hugged Amy who smiled and laughed. Rouge smiled, hands on her hips.

But... it wasn't over.

The whiz of the robot sounded once more, the wires within the bot regaining their purple glow in a snap second, flowing upward and faster than before.

The females panicked.

"W-what! No! But.. we destroyed the battery!" Cream nearly cried.

"Damn it all. I knew it was too good to be true!" Rouge kicked the robot.

Amy looked frantically at the wires.

Why are they still flowing?

Then, she noticed their flow.

Upward.

With her hair whipping past her face, she looked directly upward.

An external source...

"We need to get up there! Hurry!" Amy order, pointing up to the robots head.

Without a single hint of hesitation, Rouge grabbed Amy's waist, darting upward, Cream following right behind them.

~aAa~

Shadow examined the further damage with rage in his eyes.

The robot had taken down the rest of his companions who struggled to get up from their holes in the ground. As the dust cleared, revealing the ebony to the robot, it turned both of it's arms into cannons, preparing a blast to eliminated its final foe.

But the ebony prepared a blast of his own.

Just as the robot was about to fire, its system shut down, it's eyes dimming and arms following gravity back to the their place at the sides of the machine. All was quiet.

Shadow gazed at the bot expectantly. After a minute of silence, he headed for his fallen companions to get them into Vanilla's home.

But a revving from the robot was heard by the ebony, and he turned to see the robot come back to life with renewed purple eyes, preparing its cannons once more.

He growled, charging the bot for the last time. With one fist raised, he jumped, hoping from one arm to the other until her reached the torso. Once he was there, he punch the chest getting his hand stuck within the robot the impact jerking the robot to one side. With his hand still inside he began to chant.

"Chaos... SPEAR!"

An explosion rumbled the insides of the robot. After a moment of silence, Shadow looked up. The bot looked down to him as if to say 'Is that all you got, you worthless creature?'

The robot then flicked Shadow away like he did Sonic and the rest and let him crumble into his very own hole of defeat.

But the ebony got up, continuing to fight as his comrades tried to stir from their own pathetic holes.

~aAa~

The girls continued their climb up the broad back of the robot, having a little trouble as the bot was moving with renewed vigor. As they came close to perching atop the robots shoulder, the torso of the bot was roughly jerked to the side as an attack was dealt to it.

"Ahhhh!"

Amy and Rouge looked down to see Cream barely hanging on. She tried to flap her ears to propel her body up, but the wind kept her from doing that. She looked up at them with pure terror in her eyes, fingers slipping.

"Hold on, Cream!" Amy shouted to her. She looked at Rouge.

"You have to let me go. I climb the rest of the way on my own while you save Cream."

"I have a better idea," Rouge said, placing her gadget in Amy's hand. Rouge looked to the sky, viewing the distance between them and the robots shoulder. Amy gazed at the gadget with confusion until Rouge threw her into the air.

Amy landed on her feet, legs a little shaky, on the shoulder of the bot. With legs bent with caution, she turned and looked down.

Rouge had flown down and caught Cream in a protective embrace, standing on a ledge. She gave Amy a thumbs up.

Amy sighed in relief, turning to view the square cut out on the back of the robots helmet head. Running to it, she pulled out the odd finger pointer tool, ready to unscrew the bolts. Suddenly, a loud and familiar chant was heard and shudder erupting throughout the robot. Amy struggled to keep her balance, grabbing onto the bottom of the robots helmet with all her might as the metal below her feet shook. Cream squealed, stuffing her face in Rouge's chest and squeezing her waistline. Rouge held onto whatever she could, clutching Cream close to her and keeping her balance on the ledge.

As the shudders stopped, the rose steadied herself and proceeded to unscrew the bolts. The robots torso moved about as it continued to battle with bloody intent as the rose yanked off the square cut off that was seemingly stuck. Once it was off, she stared in awe at the intricate assemblage of the purple flowing wires that connected to their back up power source. I was a large, rectangular glass filled to the brim with sparkling purple... fairy dust? At least, that's what it looked like. A cage made of metal, which made it harder to get to, surrounded it.

Suddenly, the robot began to move... as in walk forward for the first time. It's legs were slow moving, but getting faster as each step shook the ground. Amy panicked. She flipped through the gadget, looking for something sharp. In her haste she dropped it and it slid off the robot to the ground.

"No!"

Amy dived for it, but came up empty handed. She looked back at the opening with fear. What was she to do?

Her hair taken with the wind she stood, walking over to the opening. She gulped, perparing herself.

Sticking her hand within the opening, she held onto several wires at once which immediately began to shock her hand to no end. With a cry of pain, she yanked with all her might.

Bzzzzz!

With heavy breathing and a handfull of grey wires, the rose sat on the metal shoulder as the robot's movement came to a hault and the whizzing sound came to a slow stop for good. A silence came over the battlefield.

After catching her breath, the rose gathered herself and stood, hearing a final shout of victory from her rabbit friend. She looked down to her female companions. Rouge looked up and nodded, smiling as a cheering Cream squirmed in her embrace.

The rose walked across the shoulder, using the robots head to keep her balance. Now at the front of the robot she viewed the battlefield with a calm countenance, watching her comrades, who were climbing out of their holes.

On the battlefield, Sonic stirred, rising from the ground and looking around. He saw Knuckles emerge from his hole, clutching his head, bruised but intact. He noticed Tails dragging Charmy across the field along with Espio. Out of the three, Charmy had the worst bruises and looked as if he were finally waking. Then, he saw Sally and he remembered.

"Sal!"

He darted over to her limp body, dusting off the leaves and snow from her form. He gently hugged her figure, asking in hushed whispers if she would wake up. After a few minutes, he picked her up and rushed to get her inside.

Shadow remained in the clearing, looking up at the rose that stood at the top of the robot looking down. Knuckles walked up to him.

"How do you think she got up there?" Knuckles asked, holding his bruised stomach.

Shadow pointed. Knuckles followed his finger and raised his eyebrows at the sight.

Coming from behind the robot's leg was Cream and Rouge. Cream was flying, darting past them into the house. They could hear her muttering about the health of her boyfriend as she rushed inside. Rouge on the other hand walked leisurely to the echidna and ebony. As she approached, she looked to the echidna.

"Are you alright?" she asked, straight-faced.

"Just a few bruises. Nothing life threatening. My back hurts a little though," he responded, rubbing his back the best he could.

"Good," the bat grabbed the echidna in a tight embrace, "because you aren't ever going into a battle without me again. I was worried sick about you, moron."

Knuckles was taken back by the hug, but snapped out of his shock and clutched her curved waist tightly, as if he didn't want to let go, closing his eyes. He patted her hair as her ears went back with distaste; she was obviously angered that he'd dared go to battle without her support. As she pulled away from him, she sniffed, regaining her composure. She turned to the ebony with a smirk, hand on her waist.

"So, you going to go get her or what, lover boy?" Rouge questioned, as the ebony continued to look up at the rose. He looked to the bat, almost with an... innocence in his eyes.

"Do you really believe that... I am falling... in love... with Rose?" he asked, letting the phrase 'in love' roll off his tongue oddly. He hadn't actually been in love, so he couldn't recognize it for others, let alone himself. His love for Maria was... different.

"I can tell just from the fact your nickname for her is 'Rose', Shadow. You look at her like you'd blow up the universe if she'd asked you to, valid reason or not. You treat her differently than the rest of us, in a positive way for sure. You would take a bullet for her if need be."

"Is that... a bad thing?"

"Pffft. I don't know. You tell me."

Shadow looked to his former partner with a gaze that reached into her soul. Rouge's eyes didn't lie. She was giving him honest advice.

"Thank you, Rouge."

Rouge walked toward the house, clutching Knuckles hand as he blush from the contact, stuttering her name. Rouge raised flicked her hand upward as Shadow watched her retreating figure.

"She's all yours," Rouge finalized.

The ebony looked toward the rose, sighing.

"Chaos control!"

~aAa~

Amy shielded her eyes as a green flash erupted from beside her. She looked up, smiling a warm smile.

There stood the ebony, looking to her with a serious face.

"So, are you the rescue party?" she asked, cutely with a blush. He walked up to her, making her seem so small. He looked down to her with authority.

"I thought I told you to stay on the porch."

She looked down. "I wanted to help. I-I had an idea."

"You could have been killed."

She clasped her hands together, fiddling with the bottom of her shirt. "But, I've always fought in battles, knowing the consequences."

"You disobeyed orders. Did you not think there were consequences for that?"

"A-are you... mad at me?" Her shoulders fell, ears folding back in shame and fear of his shouting.

A sigh made the rose's ears flick up. She raised her head, wide eyed at the ebony. He chuckled, eyes closed arms crossed. She waited.

When his eyes reopened, they were half-mast. He uncrossed his arms, picking her up like a bride, clutching her to his chest. He breathed out.

"I could never be mad at you," he whispered in a hush.

And with that, he chaos controlled back inside Vanilla's home.

~aAa~

"Sally! C'mon. Wake up! Please. Don't leave me..."

Sonic was on his knees in front of the couch where Sally was placed with a wet towel on her head. Sonic was shaking her, pleading with her to wake. The Chaotix took their places on the other couch. Vector looked to Sally with worry as did Charmy, on the verge of tears. Rouge sat in the rocking chair that was moved to the opposite side of the room to make room when Sonic brought Sally in. She lounged with her eyes closed, rocking lightly as her boyfriend leaned on the wall next to her, his stomach and arms wrapped with bandages, eyes closed. Cream appeared from the bathroom with her boyfriend right behind her, all bandaged up. Vanilla walked by, cleaning up the dining room table. She was the one who said that Sally would be fine and that she just needed some rest. She continued returning the food and her dishes with a calm and serious countenance. Amy walked through, helping Vanilla with the cleaning, Shadow leaning on the wall by the dining room table, watching the rose closely.

Rouge was the first to speak up.

"Sonic, Sally's going to be fine. You should probably just take her back to the castle and let the royal medics handle her. They know more about her health than we do."

"You right. We'll leave immediately."

Sonic picked up his bride-to-be, speeding out the front door to the awaiting carriage.

Knuckles let out a sigh as the cleaning came to a close and Vanilla and Amy watched the group from the dining room.

"We should go home. It's been a long night."

"Yeah. We should head back to the mansion before it gets too late," Tails agreed.

Cream yawned.

"Yup. My bed back at the mansion awaits," Cream muttered cutely.

"You mean my bed, right?" Tails smirked at her as she giggled bashfully.

"Vector. Charmy. Espio. Your beds are ready. I made them this morning," Vanilla called.

"Thanks Vanilla. You don't know how much we appreciate you!" Vector replied, he and his team headed upstairs for bed.

As the rest got ready to leave Vanilla's home, a gasp was heard.

"Wait! What about Amy? It'd be dangerous if she walked all the way home by herself! If that alien robot was out there, only chaos knows what's out there now!" cream exclaimed.

Everyone looked to Amy who shared gazes with each of them, confusion showing.

"Guys, I'll be fine. I walk in the forest at night all the time!" she said, hands up in defense.

"I will accompany you."

The group parted for the ebony as he walked up to the rose, stopping with a foot between them.

"You don't have to," she whispered.

"I insist."

"Alien robot? What do you mean?"

Shadow turned to Tails question.

"It had to be from another planet! The bolts used on it weren't the standard! Trust me! I couldn't even use my trusty screw driver on it!" Cream exclaimed.

"She's right. The bolts needed a specialized driver and the energy source to it was almost like magic in a glass bottle. I think we might have an alien mystery on our hands, guys," Rouge backed her up.

"Well, our mystery can wait until tomorrow. Goodnight, Vanilla! Have a nice night!" Knuckles called, hand behind Rouge's back, leading her out the door. Cream and Tails followed suit, Cream saying goodnight to her mother.

Shadow and Amy remained, looking at each other. She looked at him, with a serious face.

"Are you sure you don't want to go with them?"

He nodded. She smiled, leading them out the door, following a path opposite their friends.

~aAa~

And so Little Red continued her stroll through the forest side by side with the hunter, humming with happiness. She laughed at nothing in particular as she was happy to have a companion. She couldn't remember the last time she'd went on a walk with someone or had company. The ebony looked over at her with curved eyebrows. The night was chilly as the breeze bristled the couple and the near naked trees.

"What's so funny?" the ebony questioned, stepping over a root and kicking a pile of leaves as he walked.

"Oh. I just haven't been around company in a while. It makes me... well.. giddy inside... like a kid on Christmas morning."

She walked in front of him, walking backwards as to face him.

"So, how has life been to you? I don't remember the last time I simply just talked to you about your life," she explain, simply curious.

He examined her, checking for any traces of hidden motives, be he found none. It was just an innocent curiosity, he concluded.

"Life has dealt me well. I eat, I shower and I live. There's nothing more to be said."

"But, you haven't done anything with your life? Like.. go on a trip, get a job, master a skill... meet someone new..." the rose whispered the last part.

The ebony tilted his head, trying to find what she was implying with the last part.

"What do you mean by... meeting someone new?"

"Oh! I was just," the rose turned to walk forward, hiding her face from the ebony, "wondering if you'd met someone interesting. You know.. someone you find... appealing."

Now he understood her hesitance. Well, sort of. She wanted to know if he'd found that significant other. What he didn't understand was why she seemed so.. shy about the topic. She almost seemed to pout in disapproval. Was she... jealous?

"I have yet meet someone of interest as you say, but why bother when I already know a handful of interesting creatures?"

She turned her head slightly to him, one emerald eye examining him. A ghost of a smile was evident on his face. She giggled.

"Have you done anything fun lately?"

He thought for a second.

"Well. Knuckles did trick me into going with Sonic, Tails and himself to a race track. I never knew go-kart racing could be so... exhilarating."

"Really? Who won?" The rose came to walk beside him once more.

"I did, naturally. Although, that faker made a habit of bumping my kart out of the way to try and take the lead. I guess he didn't know the difference between racing cars and bumper cars."

She giggled. "I guess there is some sort of a distinction."

"Hmm. And then Cream and Rouge joined us for our second race after their shopping trip. They slaughtered us in the last three races. Sonic swore there was something wrong with their go-karts. Tails told Sonic that all the chilidogs he ate before hand slowed he and his kart down. After that, he didn't eat chilidogs for a week as the joke traveled around the house."

Amy was hysterical with laughter, a tear appearing at the corner of her eye. As she calmed down, she noticed the ebony looking at her, as if to say "what about you?"

"Well, my stories can't be as great as yours."

"But, you've done something with your life, have you not?"

She sighed.

"I guess you could say I've mastered my cooking and baking skills, since I've had so much time to myself. I sell baked goods to pay for my bills. I've... also planted a garden and looked into adopting a chao."

"Is that all?"

She held her gaze to the ground, hangs rubbing her arms. Was that all?

"I... guess it is. Unless you want to here about my boring shopping trips or the time I battled a garden snake with a broom."

He chuckled. "If you'd like to share, I don't mind."

She laughed, keeping her gaze to the ground as her face turned serious. She walked slower than normal, breath shown in the frosty air.

"Shadow?"

He looked to her, but her bangs covered her expression.

"Yes, Rose?"

She sighed, a puff floating from her mouth.

"Do you think... that robot was really after Sally?"

He hesitated.

"To be honest Rose, I think not. I don't know if you witnessed this, but Sally came charging on her horse during the battle and the robot simply shot her off her horse and left her in the snow. If it was truly there for Sally, that fight wouldn't have lasted as long as it did."

"Makes sense."

"Why did you ask?"

She met his gaze, eyes shaking.

"I just.. feel like I recognize something about the robot. It's presence, it's structure.. its .. power. Like I know someone who wields the power source found within that robot. Someone.. evil and torturously vile. Someone from a distant past." The rose shivered a bit.

"I don't know, Rose, but we should be careful. Only Chaos knows if something else will come, looking for this 'princess' of theirs. Whoever they are."

As the ebony concluded his statement, they came upon parting within the trees, revealing the rose's home. It was a two-story home, made from dark greyish bricks. There was a garage, a stone path leading to the steps to the door on the left and and a large window with yellow curtains on the far left, the window to the kitchen. The window at the top was covered with silver curtains decorated with pastel colored leaves and vines. A chimney jutted out to the far right of the house, solid and poised.

The rose regained her joy at the sight of her home. She skipped up the stone path, walking up the steps and then stopping suddenly before she hit the door. She turned, seeing the ebony who had stopped at the first stone step. He watched her, arms at his sides.

"Are you.. going to go inside?" His question broke the silence.

"I.. um." She had just taken notice of the bruises and blood on his body. Had he not taken care of that back at Vanilla's villa?

"Rose?"

"Do you want to... come inside?"

He froze. He never thought she'd want him in her home. It would just be the two of them... in a nice, warm house. Alone... with her... with no one to hear them for miles. He blushed.

"Umm... I don't want to intrude. I should head back."

"No, I insist. It's late out and you'd have to walk all the way back." She held his gaze.

He looked away.

"I will fair."

"You're hurt."

Shadow looked down at himself, taking note of his heavily bruised and somewhat bloodied body. If he hadn't notice the slight tinge of pain from the scars, now he did. Sure, he was suppose to be immortal, but he still took damage.

"I heal faster than the average, Rose. I'll be alright." He still did not look at her.

"...Shadow."

He slowly looked up.

"Please?"

He could not deny her, not with those eyes. He sighed walking up the path and taking the steps until his warmth radiated right next to her.

"Shall we?" she questioned with a smile. He breathed.

"Continue. I will not leave."

And with that, the rose stepped on the red welcome mat, unlocking the red door with the key she retrieved from her pocket. She stepped inside, turning on the lights to the living room and kitchen.

Shadow hesitated at the door. There was no turning back after this.

He sighed once more, stepping into the house and closing the door behind him.

After locking the door, he noticed growing warmth as he discarded his scarf onto the coat hanger, taking off his shoes and placing them in between the rose's boots and red house slippers. He walked down the short hallway that had a path of grey tile that was cold to the touch. At the end of the hall, the tile was met with a room full of white carpet. As he took a singular step into the room, he hummed at the carpet's unbearable softness. To the left was the kitchen, lit by the chandelier above the table near the window. To his right was the living room, where he saw the backside of the couch and a fireplace that was newly lit, a TV mounted above it. The rose stood by the fire, rubbing her hands together and sighing happily. She looked to the ebony, waiting at the hallway.

"Don't be shy. Come in. The carpet doesn't bite."

He walked slowly into the living room marveling at the light brown walls and black flat screen. Her main couch and smaller couch were a light brown, and her rocking chair was made of wood. The coffee table in the middle was glass with brown legs and the unlit lamp on the side seemed to be some shade of brown. The simple light from the ceiling plus the fire light the place. The room was very... cozy and warm. Easy to fall asleep in.

"Oh, how rude of me! Can I get you something warm to drink?"

"Umm..."

"Stay right here. I'll only be a moment!"

As she left into the kitchen, the ebony sighed, not sure what his purpose in entering was anymore. He debated sitting on the couch, but thought otherwise when her remembered his bloody state.

The rose returned with a pastel blue mug filled to the brim with hot chocolate. She handed it to the ebony, standing in front of him with a goof grin on her face. He held the mug to his chest, looking into it for a second. He looked back up to her with a blank expression as if he had no clue on what to do with the beverage. Amy just looked at him, blinking a couple times and just.. staring and waiting with her hands clasped in front of her.

"Umm... Rose?"

She blinked, tilting her head cutely as if to say "Yes?"

"I... don't want to bleed all over your nice white carpet."

"Oh! How silly of me. Come! Right this way!" The rose burst from her trance in a fit of giggles, running behind the ebony and pushing his idle body to the stair that were across from the front door on the other side of the living room.

As the ascended the stairs, Amy opened up the first room at the top of the stairs. It was a large room, painted grey with a queen sized bed with dark brown sheets, comforter and pillows. A dresser, a desk, chair and a closet were on the left half of the room. On the right was a door in which Amy opened.

"This is the guest bedroom. My room is right next door. I just cleaned this bathroom so it should be stocked with towels and such. Go ahead. Just leave the towels in the hamper when you're done."

Shadow took a step inside the bathroom, taking note of the sink in mirror right in front of him, the toilet to his right and shower to his left with brown curtains. A fluffy grey rug was placed in the middle, a door to his right where the towels would be.

"Use as much hot water as you'd like! And I'll take this," she said, taking the mug from his hands.

Within a blink she was gone, out of the room in two seconds flat.

The ebony blinked, turning back to the bathroom. He closed the door, starting up the water in a daze. He couldn't believe he was really here. Under the same roof as his 'more-than-crush' as Rouge had explained to him. Showering in a bathroom decorated by her. It was a dream.

As a steam began to cloud the mirror, the ebony stepped in, moaning as the hot water relaxed his muscles, turning to do the same for the back. He tried his best not to flinch at the stinging that occurred as his wounds were subjected to the purifying affect of the hot shower.

The ebony looked at the shower rack on the back wall of the shower. There were all sorts of shampoos, conditioners, liquid and bar soaps available, the top half female products and the bottom half for males. He picked up a black bottle, opening it up and sniffing. He didn't know what it was, but it had a sort of spice to it. He decided it was best and grabbed one of the many lofa's hanging from the bottom rack. It was a black one, of course.

After spreading the soap onto the lofa, he began scrubbing his body down, ridding himself of the dirt, leaves and blood from the battle. He made sure not to further irritate his wounds as he scrubbed his chiseled body, making sure to add extra soap to his white chest fur to insure all the dirt left and his fur was white as snow.

He turned off the shower, stepping out and retrieving two towels. He wrapped one around his waist as he used the other to pat his body dry. In the process, he opened the door, eyes closed. When he opened it, he stopped dead in his tracks to avoid running into a figure. They stared at each other, blank expressions on both.

The rose stood on one leg, the other bent in the air, foot pointed. As she was frozen in place, her arm was bent, hand in a fist ready to knock on the bathroom door while her other arm was behind her back. All in all she looked pretty damn cute.

She blinked, blushing as she saw the water dripping down the ebony, bringing attention to his... areas... from his pecks to his abs to his... everything. He stood looking at her, towel in hand, frozen on his damp quills. She put her foot down, clasping her hands in front of her cutely, head looking at the ground, face red, but with a smile.

The ebony then took notice of her attire with a blush. Her hair was wet, falling down her back and shoulders, bringing attention to her cleavage that showed as she wore a light blue night gown with thin, stringy straps, ending a few inches below her hips. It seemed a bit short for her, but hey, she hadn't had to worry about company until now, so why should she have to dress appropriately? He wouldn't be there for long anyway. Her full thighs were accented by the form fitness of the gown and she went bare foot. Shadow's gaze came back up as she began to speak.

"Y-you... smell very nice. I like the scent."

"Umm ... thank you.. I guess."

She looked up at him, a warm smile crawling across her face. She reached for his wrist, pulling him out of the room into the hall.

They entered her room, which had white walls painted with forest designs in pastel colors. Her bed was at the center, covered with pastel pink covers and red pillows. A lamp was in the corner, a vanity in front of the bed, the closet was closed on the left and a door to her own bathroom to the far right. She pulled him over to her bed, sitting him down on the edge. She turned, opening the drawer of her side table, pulling out her first aid kit. She sat on the edge of the bed in front of him, being sure not to flash him a look of her underwear in the process. She took out some alcohol to start.

"Give me your arm."

She began the process of disinfecting his wounds, being gentle like the most experienced nurse. While she did this, the ebony couldn't help but stare at her window. The curtains were partially opened and her could see the tree that was oh so familiar to him. The branch he was always perched on, the wood that he'd called home. She had to know. He wouldn't keep her in the dark.

"Rose?"

"Hmm?" She continued to turn him around to his back, where she put alcohol on a large gash across it.

"Do you remember... the promises we made to each other... the day you left three years ago?"

She hummed, remembering it all too well.

"Yeah. You promised me you wouldn't kill Sonic and I promised to take care of myself. We kept our promises and here we are."

"Yes. But do you remember what you said to me. The very last words you spoke to me before you left."

She slowed her cleaning of his back wounds until her hand laid at rest on his toned back. She stared at her hand, remembering.

"Yes. I remember."

She turned his body again, cleaning his other arm.

"What were they."

She thought for a moment.

"I said 'Watch over me from above , ultimate life form.'"

"And I told you I would."

Amy turned his body to face her again, cleaning his chest now. She focussed on her work, contemplating.

"I may have... taken your last words to heart."

She finished cleaning, tossing the dirty rag in her hamper looking up to the ebony with a straight face.

"Are you saying that you've been... watching me?"

He just looked into her eyes, his ruby orbs signifying a questionable "yes?"

She looked at him a moment longer and then gave him a warm... smile? She pulled out the bandages as the ebony looked at her, confused. She wasn't angry with him?

"That's so sweet. Unless... you've been sneaking a peak at things you shouldn't have?" she said coyly. He smirked.

"You can't fool me, Rose. You always change in your bathroom and if you don't, you always close your curtain."

She laughed as she began wrapping a bandage around his stomach.

"I alway do that. I never know when someone would come by on a surprise or something."

She tied the bandage tight and continued on his arms.

"But... I never really had company."

Her ears dropped sadly, but a smile still remained on her face, eyebrows curved up.

"Rose." The ebony lifted her chin to look at him. She giggled a watery laugh.

"And yet... you were always here. And I didn't even know it."

He sighed. he hadn't meant to make her cry. He used his thumb to catch a singular tear. She laughed again, regaining her composure.

"So, you're like a gaurdian angel or something, right?"

She finished on his arms, putting her kit away.

"I... wouldn't go as far as to classify myself as that."

"Oh sure! I wouldn't be surprised if you had invisible wings on you right now." She

made bird wings with her hands. He laughed. She yawned, rubbing her eyes like a child.

"You're tired."

"No... I'm not," she muttered slowly, continuing to rub her eyes.

"Don't deny it."

"But.."

He stood up from her bed. She grabbed for his hand. He looked down to her.

"Don't go back to the mansion tonight."

"Don't worry. I'll be here when you wake up." They were whispering suddenly.

"Where?"

"In the guest room."

"Promise?"

He leaned toward her. She leaned back with a flush on her cheeks, head pushing into her pillows. He pulled her blanket above her, tucking her in.

"I promise." He was inches away from her face.

"G-goodnight." She didn't mean to stutter.

He kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight, Rose."

And without a warning, the rose drifted into a slumber like never before, dreamless and yet full of dreams as the ebony backed out of her room, closing the door gently behind him.

~aAa~

The ebony returned to the guest room after turning off the remainder of the lights within the house. He sat on the edge of the guest bed, immediately feeling the exhaustion he'd dealt to his body for the day. The bed was comfy and soft. Oh boy could he get use to this.

"What! No. I couldn't intrude on Rose. I refuse to use her for her living space and her selflessness." The ebony could not take her kindness. He felt as if he were asking too much of her already, using her for all of her benefits and giving nothing in return.

As he turned to turn off the side table lamp, he notice the mug from before, the hot beverage obviously reheated for him to enjoy later.

He smiled at the gesture, sipping down the warm beverage as his body relaxed, once and for all.

"This is her territory. I'll simply just do as she says."

A/N: Jeeze, my back hurts! Anyway, hoped you enjoyed this! Review!


	4. Of Invites and

I'm back!

I know it's been a while and a few of you are angered or have stopped checking on this story, but I will continue, without a doubt. I thought about this story all the time during school, especially when combating AP questions and essays and interpreting calculus...

Whelp, I'm on my way to college and I hope I have time to update. I'll have a lot going on, so we'll just have to see about the updates until break.

And before we start, please review! I'd like to know how I'm doing and what you guys think about the story line and all the behaviors and such. Just keep the comments positive, okay? People who just want to mention how OOC everyone is will just make me want to take this story down. And don't worry, all of you SonicXSally shippers, Sally won't be a bitch forever. Her attitude is part of the storyline and is a result of a few past events that have made her bitter. It will be explained.

In third person.

Chapter 3: Of Invites and...

The ebony awoke to a peculiar smell penetrating the openings of his nostrils, mouthwatering and suffocating all the same. He cracked an eye open, taking a glimpse at the ceiling. With a slow, cautious movement he sat up, looking over the sheets he was tangled in. With his ruby orbs he examined the binding of his wounds from his arms to his stomach. What was going on here?

It was then that his keen hearing picked up the humming of a vibrant voice, echoing gracefully off the walls of the house. That's when he remembered his whereabouts and current situation.

"That's right. Rose let me in last night. I promised that I would stay," he muttered aloud.

With an obvious strain, the ebony found the strength to arise from the tempting bed sheets, escaping the warmth that had incased him so. He stretched, feeling the renewing of his wounds and muscles, as everything on his body seemed to fall back in place. He was the ultimate life form, after all. He healed faster than any normal Mobian could ever fathom.

After a relaxing sigh, the ebony made his way to the bathroom, looking through the towel closet until he found a new toothbrush, still packaged, and toothpaste. He took his time brushing his teeth, afterward finding the deodorant that matched the scent of the bathing soap he'd used the night before, applying it. He splashed water on his face and fixed his bed head to perfection, taking the time to gently remove his bandages, disposing of them. With a swift make of the guest room bed, the ebony walked down the flight of stairs.

When he reached the first floor, he heard a song from another's mouth, seeming to resonate off the crevices of the house with crystal clarity, bringing everything to life. It was a melodic voice, hers that sung a cute song he did not recognize, but found that the main piece of the song was the odd word "dango."

The ebony took a couple of steps until he came upon the opening into the kitchen to his right. The sight that beheld him was cute enough to make him smirk and lean sideways on the wall of the kitchen opening, shoulder squished into the wall, leg crossed comfortably over the other, watching her.

The rose, still in her short, thin nightgown, had her back to the ebony where she cooked something...delectable over the stove. Her bed head was adorable and her voice made the picture seem even more pleasurable as she switched to another song in a language the ebony did not recognize. It was a song in a sullen tone, but delicate just the same and gave the kitchen an ancient and sullen feel.

At the end of the song, the rose stopped and sighed, flipping the breakfast in the pan, regaining her chirper mood by verbally complimenting the aesthetic nature of their breakfast. That's when the ebony decided to intervene.

"It is a rather bright morning, don't you think?"

The deep, sultry sound of the ebony's words slightly startled the rose as she jumped a little and then slowly turned her head to see the ebony position at the start of the kitchen. She blinked at his seemingly... sexy pose, blushing the slightest bit only to smile at his entrance. She turned back to her cooking, finishing with the first pan and moving on to the pan next to it, turning off the no longer needed stove eye.

"I-it is. The sun's come out which is a great start to a good day." She said it in a hushed tone as if there were a baby sleeping nearby.

The rose finished cooking what was left on the last pan, taking the wet rag from the oven handle to wipe down the dirty counter. She spoke as she cleaned with a beaming smile on her face. She had company around for the first time in forever (damn it, Frozen...) and she was excited to say the least. To have another person to enjoy private time with.

"So, do you like blueberries or strawberries on your pancakes?" the rose questioned, opening the oven to check on her baking.

"Ummm... blueberries?"

After she closed the oven, she turned, walking over to him as she cleaned her hands on her light pink rag. Her smile was sincere as she came close, his body towering over her.

"Have you ever had pancakes with blueberries on top?"

He looked down to her with half lidded eyes, lips parted slightly. Chaos, was she cute, looking up at him with a shy and yet confident emerald gaze. Oh, how precious she was to him now.

"I don't think I've had ... pancakes before."

Her gaze turned thoughtful.

"That's right. When I lived back at the mansion Cream always cooked breakfast and you didn't like the way she cooked. You said she made everything too sweet."

"Although I am incapable of contracting diabetes, I wish to stay away from substances bombarded with unorthodox substances, such as artificial sugar," the ebony stated, looking toward the open window, not wanting to make eye contact.

She giggled.

"Your just being picky, aren't you?"

His face remained the same except for the added blush from her teasing, which was spot on in truth.

She laughed lightly. It faded as she gazed at his leaning body. Where were his bandages?

With her free hand she gently traced the spot on his chest where a deep wound had been, tracing from chest to abs. She was amazed to say the least. There wasn't a single sign that he'd been hurt. She traced the wound again, this time in the opposite path with slow and gentle fingers.

All the while the ebony just watched her with flushed cheeks, looking down to her with his half lidded orbs, mouth faintly open in a trance. Although the wounds had healed he could still feel a tinge where they'd been.

As the rose grazed a rather sensitive crevice, the ebony closes his eyes, moaning ever so slightly. He gently grabbed Amy's adventurous hand. She looked up, hoping she hadn't done something wrong.

"Although the wounds have healed, the areas where they once were, are still... tender," he muttered, letting go of her hand.

With a blush, she clasped her hands in front of her to keep them in order.

"S-sorry. I'm just... amazed at how quickly you've recovered."

"I am the ultimate life form. There is none such creation that can disrupt my livelihood, especially an artificial enemy. They are the most flawed."

"Well, aren't we all?"

The ebony looked to the rose with confusion, until she smiled and turned toward the kitchen table, fixing the tablecloth and pulling a chair for him to sit in. She gestured for him to come over.

"I think breakfast is ready, Mr. Ultimate Life Form. Please, take a seat."

With a blink, Shadow gently pushed off the wall to take a seat at the table. He sat down with hesitation, sitting and gazing at the table awkwardly, as he was not use to the humble catering the rose was presenting. He was always the one to handle others, not the other way around. Although Amy's way of handling differed greatly from his, he still deemed it necessary for the rose and he to switch shoes.

Amy returned to the ebony's line of stiff sight, placing two plates of pancakes on the table, a stack of three pancakes smothered with blueberries with a side of scrambled eggs, hers a singular pancake with strawberries and a small serving of eggs. She moved away again, returning with two glasses of orange juice and utensils for the two of them. She finished her chore by taking a seat across from the small, warm table across from the ebony, gazing at his stiff and awkward position with a small smirk of encouragement. He was nearly too tall and muscular to sit at her small, starter table, but the way he fit in the chair was a snug fit as his elbows lay flat on the table, forearms framing his plate. He stared blankly at the meal.

"It's alright. My pancakes don't bite. I promise."

The ebony hesitantly picked up the fork, slowly cut of a tri-layered side, picking up the portion until it reached his mouth. With slow, uncertain lips the portion entered, waking the long unregistered taste buds from their graves and sending a wave of warmth throughout the ebony.

Of course, for the rose, the only sign that the portion was enjoyable was the slight reddening of the ebony's cheeks as he chewed thoroughly and swallowed. After an awkward pause, the ebony picked up his knife and fork, eyes closed with calm, then vigorously, began to slice and consume the pancakes, chewing less, swallowing more, a blush remaining evident on his muzzle.

The rose giggled to her self before tasting of her own plate, at her own pace.

The ebony slowed half way through his meal, dabbing his mouth with a napkin, looking toward the rose in her silence. She ate with her eyes on her plate, staring forlorn-like as if she ate just to eat, her meal tasteless. The ebony turned serious, thoughtful on how to address the rose.

"Was yesterday evening as enjoyable as you'd predicted, Rose?"

She looked up, a confused and innocent look crossing her before her gaze turned guilty and she looked away. She was nearly finished with her pancake, but her eggs remained untouched. Placing her fork and knife aside, she sighed, hands in her lap.

"I... I'm not so sure. Cream was relatively happy, with her gifts and company and such. And everyone left with smiles. But, you know, there was the attack and all and I had a hard time making the rest of the dinner and-"

"He forgives you, Rose."

Her eyes lit up like saucers, hope glistening within them as she looked to him.

The ebony feared sharing this information with her for fear that she'd believe that she and the blue faker could be something more. That she could return to chasing after his blue tail, for his love and his acceptance of her own for him. That she could convince him to reject his duty as king and engagement to Sally and remain in her arms. He feared hope. Her hope.

"Although that blue faker has no need to forgive you, because you are not at fault, he...he does not resent you, as you may presume.''

Her face slid downturn once again.

"But.. he ignores me as if I don't exist to him."

"His treatment of you is simply due to his inability to formulate a better reaction to you. He thrives in immaturity, avoiding you in hopes that you'll think less of him and cause you less pain."

She knew what this meant. Sonic wanted her to move on from him, let her know that he and Sally were official and she hadn't a chance. That, for her own good, she should accept him as king and forget.

"But... he wishes to rekindle your long forgotten friendship with him."

Emerald gems met ruby crimson.

"How do you know?" Her voice was a mere whisper, breathless and uncertain.

The ebony sighed, crossing his arms and closing his eyes.

"In my time at Rouge's mansion, while I was in search of your whereabouts to ensure your safety, he came to me. He knew I would run into you eventually and proceeded to tell me of his guilty conscience. I complied with his request to inform you of his humbled spirit toward you when I believed the time was right." The ebony cracked his eyes open, soaking in her reaction with dread.

But the rose simply sighed a long awaited relief, looking to the side of the table, eyelids lowered.

"I'm glad."

The ebony's ears twitched toward her response.

"I'd thought that he'd hated me and just cut me out of his life. But it's nice to know that he's moved passed our dispute." She gazed normally at the ebony, her wholesome and cheerful self once again. "But I'll wait for him to confront me, when he's matured, to restart our friendship. I'll give him his space, to ensure Sally doesn't get the wrong idea. I want them to marry happily and get settled first."

The ebony examined the rose in small shock, as she finished off the remainder of her plate. She really had grown, to have taken that information and not have exaggerated the meaning like her old, hammer happy self would have. A ghost of a smile was evident as he finished his meal too.

As both cleared their plates the rose moved hers aside, leaning forward on the table, arms folded over in front of her, cutely smiling.

"So... we have some time to kill until Knuckle's birthday party. What would you like to do for the next couple of hours?"

The ebony lifted an eyebrow.

"I have no preference in activities. Just continue to do what you normally would in my absence. I will simply follow your lead and be of help in the areas that I can."

The rose nodded, getting up and grabbing each plate, heading for the sink further behind the ebony. As the ebony heard the facet run, he moved from his seat and walked over to stand beside the rose. She washed the dishes with contempt as he looked to her dish water, unsure whether he should intervene to preserve the beauty of her hands or let her finish her daily chore.

But a better idea struck the ebony as he came closer, taking the plates the rose place in the second half of the sink near him, rinsing them off and placing them on the drying rack. As he placed the first, the rose looked at him, ceasing her ministrations. The ebony stopped, second plate in hand.

The water from the facet rushed. Their arms brushed.

"You don't have to help me. You're my guest." Her head turned to the side cutely.

The ebony smirked.

"Think of me more as .. your roommate and then you'll approve." He continued to take the cleaned dishes.

The rose looked away with heavily flushed cheeks, but a small smile directed toward the dishes.

As their chore came to a finish, the rose hopped over to her old oven, checking her baking once again. She smiled at the progress.

"Looks like my pie still has a ways to go, but it looks nice."

The ebony spoke as he dried his hands. "Why does such baking require so much time?"

"Well, you see, my oven's really old and I haven't bothered to replace it or its parts, so it heats and cooks ten times slower than the average." The rose closed her oven, wiping off the counters and table, the ebony watching her every movement as he leaned coolly at the corner of two joining counters. He blushed lightly, as he noticed Amy's little tail sticking out from her nightgown, wagging slightly. Had she really enjoyed his company that much, their simplistic conversations about her broken oven and daily activities?

"All finished. So.. how can we kill some time...?" The thoughtful rose looked about her kitchen, looking toward the entrance into the living room where the couch was visible and then to the second entrance that lead to the second living area, what Amy used as a study. She seemed conflicted.

"Is there a pass time that you've indulged in recently?" The ebony questioned in hopes of helping.

Amy snapped her fingers.

"I know!"

And with that, the rose walked toward her study, leaving the kitchen and into the hall that was parallel and directly below the upstairs hall. She clicked on the lamp revealing the room. A bookshelf in the far left corner, a couch facing it, a white baby grand piano adorned the center of the study. To the left of the room, on the other side of the hall was the sliding back door, two plants framing the door. The rose opened the curtain of the back door, gazing out at the garden as the fix lightened the room.

With a light twirl, the rose steeped over to the piano, sitting gracefully on the long bench and lifting the placement that protected the ivory and ebony keys. She padded a few chords, tested her fingers and the keys, before looking over to the ebony, who'd remained in the hallway, leaning against the wall of the entrance.

"Would you like to hear a song?"

He nodded.

"Whatever you desire to accomplish, I will be right here as witness."

She calmed herself, clearing her throat and preparing her fingers. A desperate tone resonated from the chords she displayed as she hummed a light "ohh" from her lips.

"~~I still hear your voice when you sleep next to me. I still feel your touch in my dreams.~~"

The rose gazed forward, eyes half-mast and glazed with a layer of feeling the ebony could not recognize.

"~~Forgive me my weakness, but I don't know why. Without you it's hard to survive...~~" She ended the phrase with a light, falsetto note, more desperate, delicate and emotional than anything.

"~~'Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling. 'Cause every time we kiss I swear I could fly. Can't you her my heart beat fast? I want this to last. Need you by my side.~~" Her fingers moved faster and heavier across the keys, with deeper emotion.

"~~'Cause every time touch, I feel the static. 'Cause every time we kiss, I reach for the sky... Can't you hear my heart beat so? I can't let you go. Want you in my life.~~" Her fingers slowed with her diminishing voice, as her light piano playing transitioned into the next verse. The ebony, who'd been entranced by her playing, moved to sit gently next to the rose on the bench. She looked to him with a small smile before she continued her song, laughing with a blush as she seemed to be singing about him. She looked at her keys.

"~~Your arms are my castle..., your heart is my sky. They wipe away tears that I cry.~~"

Her playing became heavy with emotion once again.

"~~Ohh, the good and the bad time, we've been through them all. You make me rise when I fall!~~"

Her graceful hands skipped across the piano, poised and practiced as she turned back into the chorus with a light, vibrato.

"~~'Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling. And every time we kiss I swear I could fly. Can't you her my heart beat fast? I want this to last. Need you by my side.~~"

She belted every note at this point.

"~~'Cause every time touch, I feel the static. Every time we kiss, I reach for the sky... Can't you hear my heart beat so? I can't let you go. Want you in my life.~~"

Her song diminished to a mere whisper as the ebony stared intently at her face, her eyes closed, piano notes light and feathered.

"~~Every time we touch, I get this feeling. Every time we kiss I swear I could fly. Can't you her my heart beat fast? I want this to last. Need you by my side.~~"

Her song slowed.

"~~'Cause every time touch, I feel the static. Every time we kiss, I reach for the sky... Can't you hear my heart beat so? I can't let you go.~~"

She breathed, opening her eyes slowly.

"~~Want you in my life.~~"

Both of their gazes met as the rose regained her breath and the ebony looked to her, eyes half closed.

"Rose..."

"Yes?" She smiled, but he did not reply. She knew his compliment would go unspoken and she accepted the glorious silence, as his gaze was grateful, eyes glistening with emotion. Her emotion that she'd presented to him. Emotion that he did not understand.

"I'm going to go water my garden before I forget. Is that alright?"

He nodded, as she scooted out of her spot to walk out the sliding, glass door.

The ebony lingered, placing a few fingers on the keys, sliding them softly across, in thought.

Did the rose feel the same for him as he did her? Had she, somehow, felt that unnerving feeling he felt when he was near her. That desire to protect, to hold, to keep... to take. Had her heart beat a mile a minute as soon as they had made any form of contact? Did she think of him consistently with an ominous smile firmly in place, a blush appearing when she realizes whom she was referring to in her mind? Could she, like he, been in love with him before she even knew it herself? Or maybe she doesn't believe she's… in love. Maybe she needs proof for herself. An act that will kindle the fire within her and make her realize what she feels so she may act upon it.

"Or maybe I'm thinking to much," the ebony whispered to no one in particular, alone in the study.

With that, he traced the steps of the rose out into the garden, where the sight baffled the ebony hedgie for a moment.

Vines layered the wall of the back of the house, thick and lush with green, a color flourishing throughout the rest of the rose's garden of sorts. A path made of light grey stones lead the way through the garden, framed by little garden lights that glistened blue. Leaves and stems poked from the ground, flowering plants and colorful flora hanging around from every corner of the garden that was framed by a low picket fence. The ebony looked down by a row of plants to see the rose on her knees, tipping her watering tank, wavy pink quills falling across her face as she mothered her plants.

The ebony walked over to her, footfalls light and slow. He bent down to view what she was looking toward.

"Hey there, little guy. I know you're a little shy, but you'll shape up. I promise."

The rose was referring to a little sapling of sorts that had poked out of the ground; a pale green with two leaves branching out. She watered it lightly.

The ebony chuckled.

"Baby talk, Rose?"

She looked up to him, playfully smirking.

"Everyone deservers some baby talk, every once in a while. Even you, Mr. Ultimate Life Form." She used her finger to make air quotes around his title. The ebony smirked, arms crossed.

But as soon as he had began their playful conversation a shuffling in the forest was heard in the distance by the ebony, heavy and quick. The ebony turned serious, ears twitching, breath held.

"Shadow... what's wr-"

The rose was cut off by a pair of gloved hands grabbing her upper arms and shoving her against the wall of the house. The rose slammed her eyes shut during the impact and when she opened them again, the ebony had his arms around each side of her head, chest fur tickling her cheek slightly, his face turned to the side as he scanned for an oncoming threat, muscles engaged and stiff. The rose had instinctively placed her hands on his chest to ensure he would not crush her. As she felt his heat from his closeness, she blushed softly, looking past him as much as she could to scan the area.

All was silent, save for the wind that gust by, fluttering their fur.

The ebony sniffed the air, ears twitching once again. A low growl emitted from his chest, startling the rose. She stiffened, clutching his fur softly. Fear began to creep. She placed her face into his chest.

Rustling came through to the rose's ears now and a hefty deer went prancing by, it's tail and brown color the only visible message that the seeming "threat" was harmless and retreating.

The ebony sigh, relaxing and turning his head to the rose.

"Damn deer almost received a chaos blast strong enough to shake the planet. Rose?"

The rose remained in his chest as he looked down to her with an innocent confusion. She had enjoyed the way his chest vibrated with deep volume as he spoke. She couldn't get enough of it.

"Rose?" He sounded frantically concerned now.

She pulled back, head still low as her bangs covered her face. He gazed at her expectantly.

"Sorry. I was preparing myself for impact. Is the threat gone?"

With a slight hesitation, the ebony placed his forehead against hers, lowering his head to match the level of their eyes. Her muzzle flushed, fearing the closeness of their lips. Any closer and they would lock...

"I .. apologize." The ebony's voice was slightly guilt-ridden.

"What for?"

They were whispering now.

"My... need to protect you from every possible threat has resulted in my ... overreaction."

She blinked.

"What was the threat?"

He paused, closing his eyes.

"A... deer."

She giggled.

"I'm flattered Shadow but I do have a bit of self defense."

His ruby orbs rekindled, burning passionately, fierce.

"But there's always a threat that will attempt to demolish you, Rose. There will be individuals, armies, undignified men that will be stronger than you, so much stronger. There's always that possibility that a threat can overtake you, bring you to your knees, once your weakness is located. Rose, I can't bear the thought of someone hurting you, destroying you, whether it be through your physique, your mind ... or your innocence."

With her heavy blush still in tow, the rose looked away.

"Do you think that I don't feel the same way about you?"

He sighed. "Rose, I am immortal-"

"But you can still be taken away!"

Both pairs of passionate eyes connected.

"Although you can't be killed, you can still be badly injured. Even though you can't be beaten, there are always threats that can reprogram you, make you think otherwise about your own morals and friends. Although you can't be imprisoned, anyone as smart as Eggman can shut you down, put you in a pod full of liquid and give you eternal slumber which is the equivalent to death itself."

The eyes of the ebony lowered, remaining in contact with hers.

"Although all of those scenarios are highly unlikely... you are right. But I assure you I will live without harm."

"Prove it. What means of defense will ensure that your will survive? What are your backups?"

"You know what I can do, Rose. I have unmatched immortal strength, Chaos powers and the use of all seven emeralds. With excellent senses, reflexes and multiple combating arts to top it off, that should prove sufficient in defense."

"There has to be something else. A... last resort. When all your strength is sapped and you need to rely on some other source to exult enough power to save you."

The ebony held her gaze for a few breaths before he sighed, closing his eyes and pulling out his gun hidden within his quills. The rose's eye trailed the weapon as the sun glinted off the length, the word _rose_ engraved where the sun illuminated the machine, a stark black hand gun.

"I am also skilled with all forms of weaponry, although I am particularly skilled with ranged weapons such as this gun. I keep it with me at all times, as a habit that was protocol to GUN.''

The rose swallowed.

''I think you've proven yourself."

"What of you? What skills have you acquired that will ensure that you will survive unharmed in my absence?"

The rose looked nervous. How could she compare?

"Well, I have my hammer and...some martial arts techniques that I picked up from Knuckles... and..." she fiddled with her fingers with unease. He was sure to be unimpressed.

The ebony hummed, removing his remaining arm that had trapped her, but kept a close proximity to her body. He dusted his gun, grabbing her wrist and placing the gun gently between her fingers, the safety engaged. She froze up stiff, fingers lightly gripping the weapon, being mindful of the trigger. She looked down to it, and then into his crimson eyes with worry.

"Shadow...?"

"How does it feel?" He questioned, searching her eyes for fear, uncertainty, doubt.

"I'm... not too sure. A gun is just an inanimate means of defense until given to someone that uses it otherwise. I'm not afraid, if that's what you're implying." The rose looked back to her occupied hand, turning the gun in her palm, examining the lethal edge it bore.

The ebony touched foreheads, smiling, eyes closed, with a husky breath.

"Perfect." He muttered.

With a blush, the rose's eyes strained up stream to meet his reopening red. Determination glittered his contrivance.

"We will begin your training immediately."

~aAa~

"I don't think I can do this, Shadow."

"Nonsense. You are beyond qualified to operate this weapon."

The ebony and the rose stood a few yards outside of her garden, with a few of her old watering cans hanging from a coalition of tree branches a small distance from her. But that was the least of her concerns.

The ebony was pressed snuggly onto the rose's form, holding her steady with one arm around her waist, the other grasping her hand that was under the hilt of the gun, keeping it straight. His head rested above hers, his chest acting as the backbone for her body that rested against. He kept his eyes closed, breathing to calm the rose and facilitate her, knowing that was the best way to get the best aim. The rose did her best to remain sane, as she could feel every muscle, nook and cranny of the ebony hedgie, toned, firm and warm. She could not conceal her blush at his closeness, feeling as if she were exposed and naked, but the ebony was respecting her stark white innocence, closing his eyes and simply feeling. The rose did her best to avoid these thoughts and concentrate. Focus. Focus on her stance, holding the gun with both hands for stability, legs slightly apart, back arching slightly into the ebony's toned chest…

"Rose?"

"Y-yes?" She squeaked a bit.

"Are you ready?"

She looked at the can she was planning to shoot. It teetered slightly from side to side with the breeze as the branch squeaked. The red circles that represented a target were just visible in red pastel paint.

"Yes."

"Then shoot."

She hesitated, unsure. Would the recoil be too much? Would it frighten her or hurt her hand? Or will the gunshot be too loud? Or maybe the bullet will hit the can and come right back at her? She began to hyperventilate.

"I-I can't."

He sighed.

"Rose. No one is ever truly confident, especially when shooting a ranged weapon. Anything can happen after you pull that trigger because the ammunition is then no longer within your control. Knowing this may scare you, but it shows maturity and depth of thought. This alone should allow you to shoot, not with confidence, but with hope. And you of all people thrive in this concept the most, I should say." The ebony tightened his grip on her body.

The rose stopped her fidgeting, acknowledging the target with solid vision.

"Now… shoot."

At the beat of her heart, the rose pulled the trigger, the recoil sounding throughout the forested area, beyond her ears.

The rose hadn't realized she'd closed her eyes until she found herself opening them…

To see a hole at the bulls eye point within the first watering can.

The rose felt the ebony move away from her, standing beside her to observe.

"Bravo, Ms. Rose, Bravo. I never realized what excellent marksmanship you had." He smirked lightly, bowing with the essence of a butler.

Lowering the gun, the rose blushed a deep red, looking away with a slight smile.

With the tension released, the rose practiced on the other targets within the trees, earning remarks from the ebony to help her and tips to ensure she took her rookie status to professional.

As she shot the last of the cans, she lowered her gun as a sweet aroma escaped from the opened back door. She gasped.

"My pie!"

After handing the gun to the ebony, empty of ammo, she dashed inside, headed to the kitchen. The ebony, placing his gun within his quills, chuckled, following the rose inside.

As he entered the kitchen, the rose was taking her pie out from the oven, a dorky grin on her face, tail wagging. He leaned across the entrance, watching her with interest. Oh, how he could get use to this.

The rose took a long breath inward. She sighed contentedly.

"It's definitely ready." The rose muttered aloud as she wrapped the pie and set it in another one of her decorated baskets, adding a small box with a more expensive form of gift trapped within. She set the basket by the door, coming back within the kitchen, stretching with a smile.

"Looks like we should start the trek to the mansion. What do you think?"

"It is… wise to travel before night comes upon us. Not to mention Rouge will be disappointed if we are fashionably late, considering the time she put into decorating the house. She's been setting up since last week."

"Sounds crazy. Hope she doesn't mind me waiting outside until the fun is done and over with." The rose teased, taking the steps by two's to get to her room.

~aAa~

The crunch of snow beneath her feet wasn't enough to calm the anxiety lingering within the rose. According to Shadow, it wasn't going to be just the main team at the party; although she should have known considering the party was being hosted by Rouge. If anyone knew how to throw a house party, it was the voluptuous jewel thief.

Little red kept her feet consistent with that of the hunter, her brown boots laced to the top taking two steps with the his long one stride. Her long sleeved black and white stripped sweater fit snug across her form, her jeans layered on top of dark leggings to keep her warm, a maroon scarf around her neck. She held onto her basket tightly with both hands, gazing straight ahead with thought. The hunter looked down to her, arms crossed, curious, watching as her pink quills bounced along her shoulders.

"Shadow?"

He looked to the path ahead.

"Yes, Rose?"

She thought for a second.

"How many people do you think… Rouge invited?"

He chuckled.

"Getting cold feet, Rose?" He lightly teased.

"No, I just… well sort of."

"You've taken out thousands of Eggman machinery in your youth and saved countless lives. How can a crowd of imbeciles stuffed in one excessively decorated venue compare?"

"I know, I just… haven't interacted with so many people in.. quite some time. I might not know how to act."

The ebony hummed in thought.

"Do not be afraid, just seek out those who are of comfort to you. Stick to them. Large crowds are generally just smaller groups of individuals mangled into one, so you will seem less out of place if you travel within a pack."

The rose envisioned her self at the punch bowl, finding Rouge and Cream, succeeding and following them to the dance floor. This thought calmed the rose and brought a smile to her face and color to her pale muzzle.

"What about you? How are you going to cope?"

He huffed a strangled sigh, closing his eyes.

"I will… most likely be whisked away by Rouge onto a group of fan girls or pushed by Knuckles to play a round of Dance Dance Revolution or some competitive sport of the sort. They like to use me to manifest a form of… entertainment, if you will. Rouge claims it keeps her party people coming back for more."

The rose laughed.

"I actually wouldn't mind seeing that. I haven't seen you in action in a while." She teased.

He cleared his throat looking away from the rose.

Before the ebony could retort, the rose stopped dead in her tracks. The ebony slowed a few steps ahead of her. He looked back to her.

"Rose, what's wrong?"

Little red stood still, gazing hard in between the trees.

"What.. is it?" She muttered, but the hunter's sharp perception heard the question crystal clear.

"Amy, what is i-" His question went unanswered as her foot steps rushed into the snow beyond the path, leaving behind her basket in the place she once stood. The hunter sighed, reaching for her basket and following her tracks, slowly.

She could see it, a glow of pastel pink within the snow, suffocating, trying to surface. Twisting through the trees, the rose halted in front of a large tree looking down into the slope of white covering the base of its trunk. She bent down on her knees, sifting through the snow lightly as not to lose the object once again. Then, she came upon it.

A small, lightly glowing heart gem, no bigger than a miniature pendant, lying against the offending snow. She reached for it with both hands, fearing it's fragile frame. She turned it in her palm in awe, smiling at her discovery.

"It's like… a chaos emerald…"

"I highly doubt a replica of the emeralds would take that form."

The rose looked behind her at the ebony that held her basket toward her, a motion to show they needed to continue on.

She stood up, the heart in her cupped hands, turning to show the ebony. He looked within her palms, his face neutral.

"What do you think it is, Shadow?"

He looked at it solidly. The glow was unnatural.

"I'm not sure."

Then, the heart stopped glowing, becoming just a pendant.

"Oh, I guess it ran out of juice." The rose stuffed the gem lightly within her pocket. She lightly grabbed the basket from the ebony's grasp, thanking him and continuing.

~aAa~

Just cutting the chapter in half to even everything out. This is just the first of many editing attempts to make this story more appealing.


	5. Invasions

This is just a cut of the last update to even out the chapters.

In Third Person

Chapter 4: Invasions

The path let out onto an open clearing, which served as the backyard of the large mansion shared by the heroes. Although in view, the house was quite a distance away from the hunter and little red, whom of which were walking the length of the clearing to reach the porch. The hunter sweat dropped, seeing from a distance the extravagance of the party simply from the decorations scattered across the backyard.

From the sparse trees that littered the clearing and framed the large porch area were purple, blue and red lanterns hanging, with white, beady lights falling like ice crystals below them. Wrapped around the base of the trees were red ribbons, tied nicely into decorative bows. The wooden border of the dark brown porch was wrapped with white ribbons and lined with even more lanterns. Below the porch, under and around the trees were tables graced with white table clothes and candles, chairs surrounding each for the leisure of the guests. On the right of the porch were long tables, graced with purple tablecloth, beholding a buffet fit for a king. A roasted pig with an apple along its jaw, ribs, hotdogs, hamburger patties, buns, chilidogs, fries, bowls of assorted chips and pretzels, fruit salads, rice, beans, pork, shrimp, drumsticks, cold vegetables with ranch dip and a table alone dedicated to sweet treats such as donuts, cupcakes, cookies and a few other pastries. Along the same assembly line, near the end, were twelve blue ice chests, each specializing in a specific beverage, ranging from beer to soda to juices to water. The large remainder of the porch was left to be stomped on as the dance floor was set up. How it was created, they were unsure, but it seemed Rouge had gotten color changing tiles that changed as people stepped on them. Bubbles floated about the scene as a small coalition of partiers danced, a disco ball adorned above them, the large stereo system and subwoofers booming with volume and beat to the far left in the corner of the porch, the DJ shrouded in the shadows. The sun was just above the land.

As the couple approached, they took notice of three grills in the far right below the porch, smoke billowing from their exhaust pipes. Before they went up the steps, a voice called to them.

"Look who decided to show? Haven't seen you much, Ames."

Amy squinted between two grills and in the space noticed a green quill. At first she nearly panicked, thinking of the anti-Sonic, but then he showed his face, a grin adorning his cocky face.

"Manic?"

"That's my name, baby. Don't wear it out." He smirked, winking, flipping the spatula in his grasp.

She giggled at his charisma, while the ebony glared lightly.

"It's nice to see you again. You sure have grown. How's palace life?"

Manic had grown to a height nearing Shadow's, his spiky bangs coming farther down his face, quills extending beyond his waist. He wore a simple black, spiky belt with a silver chain hanging low, his shoes black combat boots. He'd gained muscle since last she'd seen him, which was years ago.

"Eh, life is life. The royal palace? Ew, more like a royal pain in my ass." He looked away, flipping a few layers of the meat on the grill closest to him.

"Well, whatever you're cooking smells delightful." She complimented, before turning to walk the remainder of the steps, the ebony following her steps.

Skewed across the porch dance floor were Mobians of every shape and size, some recognizable, others just bystanders. Amy smiled nervously as many of the dancers looked to her general direction, smiling and shouting. She recognized Blaze and Silver standing rather close together, looking to her while lifting their drinks in a cheer. She also saw Marine waving as she danced from side to side, Charmy and Big standing near her as well chattering away about nothing in particular. Much of the crowd was swaying, much less dancing, as they were covered in warm casual attire.

The rose reluctantly made her way through the peoples, making her way to the decorated sliding glass door, opened and covered diagonally by a red curtain beaded with lights. As she lifted the cloth with the back end of her palm, the view was enough to cease her travels. The ebony remained behind her, taking in the site with an expressionless gaze, expecting nothing more nor less.

The large and seemingly endless ceiling reached, speckled with glow in the dark stars and a hanging, dimmed chandelier littered with more hanging white lights set to the lowest setting. Below, the mobians chattered away, loud and predictable as the party continued inside. The wall by the large brown front door was dark, but lightened by the small colorful lights placed across it by Rouge, the winding stairs glittering with red lights wrapped around the stair railing. On the far left, the fireplace roared with life as the flat screen above it displayed lyrics to a song, while the speakers on either side of the fireplace was the essential output, blasting the instrumental. Conducting this karaoke was none other than Mina Mongoose, singing away as she was surrounded by Mighty, Espio and other adoring fans either enjoying the voice or awaiting their turn. Espio had his eyes closed, nodding to the beat while Mighty tapped his foot with a smile. Not to far off, closer to the backyard entrance was a big screen set upon a brown TV stand, displaying the arrowed moves of the game Dance Dance Revolution. In front of the set up, crushing the arrows below their feet were Sonia and Antoine, battling it out as Bunnie stood behind the two, cheering on her mate, telling him make Sonia eat his fancy dust. A crowd had formed around them, saying things like "Sonia is talented rhythmically, too?" and "wow, Antoine has a real strong accent when he's angry," at least of what Amy could hear.

Remaining in the center were the usual stark white couches, the three of them turned toward each other in the large expanse of a room, a table at the center. Adorning the seats were Julie-Su and a few other echidnas from the island, sitting and lightly chatting amongst themselves, Julie-Su specifically, sitting with her legs crossed, a warm cup of something cuddled within her palms. On the far right was the entrance to the large kitchen expanse that was fully lit. From Amy's view, she could see the kitchen table littered with gifts. On the right, along the wall enclosing the kitchen near them were a few dartboards, that in which were surrounded by guests as Tails and Rotor were going at it, sifting through the concepts of precision and accuracy. Cream stood by, giggling and cheering as more fans traveled near, marveling at the two freedom fighting geniuses.

The rose awoke from her stupor, taking a deep breath and continuing through the living area, headed for the kitchen. Looking around to ensure a crowd of fans would not stop him, Shadow followed the tracks of the rose, trying his best to blend in and keep from being subjected to the normal torture he endured during house parties.

On reaching the kitchen, the rose looked back and forth across the rows of cabinets and drawers. By a counter on the left, Vanilla stirred away at a form of batter while speaking lightly with Tikal, whom of which indulged in the cutting of strawberries on the cutting board by Vanilla. Near them, the main kitchen table was stacked with presents galore. On the far right end, by the large window that had the perfect view of the backyard was a tall brown table with tall brown chairs. Sitting atop the chair adorned in balloons was the birthday man himself, Knuckles, siting with a small assortment of cards in his hands and a crown made of real…bacon leaning sideways on his head. He threw down a card as the random mobians around him sweated in anticipation. Knuckles kept on his poker face as the cat across from him muttered the word "bullshit". Knuckles smirked, turning the card over, earning an angered sigh from the cat, as a large pile of cards was shoveled in his general direction.

"Oh yeah, baby! I'm the king tonight!"

Amy shook her head at Knuckles usual party behavior as Shadow crossed his arms in distaste. They could both tell that he was already tipsy.

"He may look like he's had a lot to drink, but trust me, he's only had a sip."

The two looked behind them to acknowledge the entrance of Rouge, who was clad in a white tank with a maroon cardigan and grey scarf for warmth, dark jeans and black knees high boots. She sauntered over to them with a drink in hand and a playful smirk, curves and all, looking to her boyfriend with a carefree essence. She looked to Amy.

"I see the young couple made it! I was afraid you'd holed up in that little home of yours for the winter, hibernating and whatnot."

Amy replied to Rouge's sarcasm with a chuckle and a light tilt of her head.

"Sorry to have worried you. Did you really think we were going to miss one of your parties?"

Rouge sighed, crossing her arms with a pout, as she seemed to be remembering a particular scene.

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if Shadow had tried to convince you to skip, knowing how he is normally abused during my parties. Last time he was forced into an intense game of spin the bottle with a few drunken females. Honestly I told him it would have been a lot more enjoyable if he'd had a bit to drink himself, but he didn't quite catch on to that fact." Rouge's tone and facial expression turned from that of a pouting child to that of a playful and flirtatious teenager.

Amy's cheeks lit up with color at the thought of Shadow alone, sucking face with a few drunken fan girls, willing to hop into his pants at a moments notice. She shivered at the thought, looking down toward the ground as she rubbed her right arm, embarrassed and minutely… jealous?

Shadow growled a bit, not with a furious anger, but an annoyance of which many were well acquainted.

"Do not speak as if I am not within your presence, Rouge."

She giggled with a smirk as she waved him off.

"What's wrong, Mr. Brooding? Afraid I'll scare our little rose off by telling her of your adventures? Although I'm pretty sure you two have had a few adventures yourselves, if you know what I mean." She concluded her teasing with a wink.

The ebony closed his eyes in annoyance, one brow twitching as he blushed a light sheet, arms crossed. The rose looked confused a bit as she dwelled on the idea of their "adventures," but soon after puffed into a heated blush as she thought of their alone time at her home.

Rouge nodded.

"See? Guilty as charged."

Amy shook her head rapidly from side to side.

"N-no, Rouge! We haven't done what you think we have! At least nothing along the lines of all that is done in spin the bottle." Amy whispered the last portion.

"Don't worry. Your secrets are safe with me."

Amy sighed, exasperated as the ebony's ears perked up and pointed toward the door. Rouge also looked toward the door.

"Hm, looks like the last of our guests have arrived. Fashionably late as always. Or royally late, to be more accurate." Rouge crossed her arms, watching as the front door creaked as it was pushed ajar by the blue blur.

First through the door, Sally walked within the warm home, clad in her traditional blue boots, a pair of grey jeans, a lavender overcoat with black buttons, in which she proceeded to discard, showing her form fitting white sweater accompanied with her gold chain that held her engagement ring at the end. As she set her coat along the coat rack by the door, she looked like her old self, the reliable tactician of the former freedom fighters and respected princess of the days Mobius was in a tattered chaos. She had a friendly smile, one that could warm the chilled of hearts and she looked as if she had no care in the world, none but to please the country in which she was destined to regulate.

Sonic followed her in, shrugging off his on worn winter scarf and placing it in a trustworthy space. He rubbed the princesses arms as she shivered slightly from the draft that followed them in as he closed the door. As soon as he made contact with her fur though, she gave a look of distaste, lightly pulling away from his area, looking around the populated home.

And as soon as she made eye contact with the rose, her face turned sour, upturning into that of a disgusted anger as she puffed and stormed across the entire living expanse, pushing through the curtain to end up right back outside, disappearing within the swaying crowd of dancers. Sonic called after her, but after receiving silence, he scurried after her, excusing himself as he pushed past his fans and friends.

Rouge turned back to the two.

"Jeeze, still don't know what her problem is. Even I would prefer the old Sally than this stuck up, bratty version of herself. I guess she's just going through one of the many Sally phases. Next thing you know she'll be dying her hair brown and her fur grey."

Amy shook her head, looking down to the basket she still clutched in her grasp.

"No. I'm pretty sure she just wishes I'd disappear. I don't know what her issue is with me now, but I hope that she takes my silence as a truce." Amy rubbed her right arm a bit.

Just as their conversation was getting to its climax, the kitsune and his rabbit companion jogged up to them, panting and excited.

"Shadow, you've arrived! Quick, we need you outside!" Tails exclaimed, grabbing Shadow by the arm and pulling him out to the porch area.

"Not again…" Shadow muttered under his breath as he was pulled away.

Cream remained by the girls as they watched the two friends make their escape to the portion of the party that proceeded within the confines of the cold. As they disappeared, Cream turned to Amy, clad in baby blue knitted sweater that looked a bit oversized, white jeans and short grey laced boots. She looked to her with absolute joy.

"Amy, I'm glad you made it! I've missed you!" Cream trotted in front of her and gave her a full on hug. The rose, stunned at first, returned it gladly with warm cheeks.

"It's great to be back, Cream. I don't remember the last time I visited. I'm not sure if this place looks the same or not."

As they released one another, Amy made her way over to the kitchen table filled with gifts. As she set hers down in a feasible spot, Cream and Rouge followed, wanting to make conversation with the long awaited rose hedgie.

"So, how are you and Mr. Shadow doing, Amy?"

Amy looked back to Cream as she was focused on the basket to make sure her gift was still in check. She turned back to fixing her gift, thinking.

"Shadow and I? Well, not much has happened. He just brought me safely home and stayed the night in the guest room. He was hurt, so I aided his wounds. He was there when I awoke and now we're here." As she fixated the gift to perfection, she turned fully to the attention of her friends, feeling suddenly flushed when she came upon Rouge's disbelieving and sassy posture and Cream's worried glance.

"What?" Amy sputtered.

"Amy, you know Shadow has a thing for you, right?" Rouge questioned.

The rose just stared into her face, question marks seeming to appear above her head in droves if they were visible.

Rouge sighed.

"You guys haven't figured this out yet? You two have an obvious attraction, sometimes I just want to tell you two to get a room, I swear." Rouge teased.

Amy looked to Rouge with a sarcastic flare.

"Rouge, I highly doubt it's that serious. We're just close companions, you know, like you, Cream and I. I feel I can tell him anything and he'll give me good advice or support."

Cream swayed from right to left and back to get the rose's attention.

"But Amy, you and Mr. Shadow have this intensity when you're around each other! You look into each other's eyes and you two pass this silent message, a message that both of you can understand. It's like you can't wait to be alone with one another. When I've caught you two, this seems to be the fact." Cream beamed with factual sense.

Amy just stared at her smaller friend, amazed at her description, trying to stomach it a bit. Rouge smirked knowingly.

"See? Even little ol' Cream can see it and she's been with Tails for how long?"

Cream flushed, turning to the bat.

"Rouge, my relationship has nothing to do with this situation."

Rouge picked at her fingernails.

"Oh yes it does, hun. Everything I mention is relevant." The bat topped off her statement with a wink.

Amy shook her head at her friends nonsense chatter, rummaging through her pockets for her phone to check the time. But she froze as her fingertips grazed the surface of a glass like object. She lightly wrapped her fingers around it, pulling it out with a delicate clutch. There, her friends attention was caught at the glow emanating from the deep, red heart charm cradled within the rose's palm.

"A-amy? What is that?" Cream stuttered in awe.

She shrugged lightly.

"I'm…not so sure. I found it in the snow, but it wasn't glowing this much before."

Rouge gasped happily.

"Wait."

The bat rummaged through her pockets on her cardigan, pulling out both a glowing silver emerald shaped charm and a golden star charm. She handed the former to Cream who beamed with remembrance.

"Oh yes! The odd things we found in the trees when we were decorating for the birthday party! I remember now!" Cream exclaimed.

Rouge nodded, presenting hers to Amy.

"Looks like we're matching in some way. What do you think they mean? Another adventure? A cry for help from the forces of the chaos emeralds? A mission exclusively for the females this time?" Rouge continued.

Amy shook her head with a smile at Rouge's quirky questions, as they all held their charms for each to see.

"I don't know, but let's hope we don't get into anything dangerous. I really want to spend more time with you guys. It's been so long," Amy sighed.

Just as the trio began to agree, the remainder of the partiers flowed out the back door, attracted to a loud occurrence happening on the outdoor dance floor. Rouge looked over to the table Knuckles was playing cards at to find the seats vacant. By the looks of it, she could tell the seats had been vacant a while.

"I have a feeling Knuckles is doing something outrageous right now and we should go stop him before he hurts himself," Rouge suggested, placing her charm within her pocket. Her female companions did the same.

"Ooo! I hope it's another dance off! I love watching those things," Cream giggled, leading the way out the back door.

Upon reaching the door, the group of females was stopped by the formed crowd blocking the exit. Rouge tapped at the shoulders of a few to get them out of the way, which allowed all three to take notice of the four familiar Mobians that were having a severe staring competition of some sort. Cream giggled while Rouge raised an eyebrow. Amy looked worried.

"Are they going to fight?" Amy looked to Rouge for answers.

Rouge shook her head slowly.

"Not the kind of fight you're thinking of, hun."

Knuckles was staring straight into Sonic's face, a little too close for comfort, standing a bit taller looking down into his humorous emerald eyes. Shadow stood beside the echidna looking down to Tails without care, arms crossed as the kitsune stood behind the blue blur, scratching his head as he gave his nervous glance to Shadow. Amy looked to the DJ booth, now seeing Vector underneath the contraption as a rather popular human world song (think of Closer by Ne-Yo…) rang through the subwoofers, earning a rather endearing response from the blue hedgehog.

While remaining close to the echidna, the blue blur began to lightly pop his body forward, in a rather aggressive dancing manner, eventually rolling his head back, the remainder of his body following as he executed another move rapidly within the view of his opponent. Knuckles remained unamused, but held a touch of playful within his magenta orbs.

The hedgehog stood, chest out as he hit it with his fist, completing his segment as the song began to pick up and transition into the bridge. The crowd hooted and clapped. The echidna smirked, moving away from his dark companion and into the space left vacant by his challenger.

He began with a few side steps, rolling his body smoothly with each step, abs crunching and flexing as a female whistled at the display. The next two moves where executed with his legs in a squat, his fists moving between the spaces in front and in back of him before he suddenly spun on the floor on his side with the velocity gathered. He stopped his spin with a pose in which he held, giving his disbelieving opponent a wink. Rouge whistled, clapping while roaring "YES BAE," earning a blush from her female counterparts and her red head companion. Sonic blinked and looked over to Tails, whom of which sweat dropped at Knuckle's display. The kitsune swallowed, stepping into the space provided.

With a sigh, the kit snapped four times. After, he performed two sets of three steps, feeling the beat as he spun around and stopping to lightly roll his body with a hand to follow the movement. He cutely pretended to fix an invisible tie with a sheepish grin, stepping side and then back, next side and then back, stomping two times and then snap-pointing to Shadow as Cream clapped while shouting along with the audience. Shadow, who'd been ignoring much of the display, opened his eyes, uncrossed his arms and stepped out into limelight.

As everyone stood deathly quiet, the ebony tapped his foot along with the bass, rolling his shoulders with the rhythm. He stood with his back to the majority of the crowd. With an abrupt movement, the ebony flipped backward, with a twist, landing with a slide on his knees, running his fingers through his quills as he breathed with wet lips. His eyes held a deep, lustrous glint as the females cried bloody murder at the rare action, a few fainting. Amy had been behind one of the fainting few and had seen the display, watching the ebony with extremely heavily flushed cheeks. She had to admit, the look within his orbs had turned her on a bit.

On his knees, the ebony took and eight count to let everyone take a gander, pushing his pelvis forward in a hip thrust move, eventually using the movement to push him backward once again, using his hands to flip him twice, landing on his feet in front of Tails and Sonic as he spun, stopping to roll his body toward them with a smirk and a hand within his tasseled quills.

A scream ripped across the crowd as they had chosen their winners, the echidna and the dark hedgie. Rouge shouted along with them, Cream giggling with a cry excitement. Amy came out of her stupor, clapping and laughing. She'd missed these sorts of interactions. The competition was enough to leave a smile plastered on her face the entirety of the night.

The rose felt a hand grab her wrist. She looked up.

"Come on! We can't let the boys hog the limelight. Let's get in there!" Rouge enticed, pulling her through the crowd and into the circle of space. Cream followed after happily, lifting her arms up about her as she hopped around, dancing. Rouge followed her lead, moving her hips and head side to side as Amy stood within the cheering crowd, legs and arms apart, deer in headlights.

She looked around, seeing the crowd jump with excitement, rotating until she saw the boys who looked to the girls in befuzzled awe. When her eyes came in contact with Sonic's, he shrugged with a smirk and began to dance vigorously. The echidna followed suit, he and the kitsune coming over to dance with their female counterparts. The remainder of the crowd began to dance as well, meshing back into one huge pit of persons, not a single breathable space left between anyone on the dance floor now.

The rose got caught along the wave of moving Mobians, being pushed and shoved until she softly fell into a warm body that held her steadfast. She looked up, flushing. The ebony gave her a nod as he steadied her in front of him. She smiled, yelling over the music.

"You did great!"

The ebony shook his head.

"It was just to entertain the guests, nothing special." His voice penetrated through the noise pollution.

She laughed.

"Want to dance?"

He stood above her, close, warm and protective, a small smirk evident.

"If you'd like."

They swayed side to side quickly with the tempo. Amy took a chance to spin with a giggle, eyes closed, coming closer to the ebony, hopping with the beat. The ebony mirrored her, watching her, being sure to protect her body from the congestion.

As he watched, he noticed the warmth and joy she emitted. His eyes glazed over as she gazed into his eyes, both becoming entranced.

Instinctively, the rose brought her arms to his shoulders slowly, leaning in gently, taken. He lightly grazed her shoulders, bringing his hands to slide up her arms to her wrists, wanting to remain in contact.

If only for a little while…

But with the set of the sun, the close of the day, a fiend was left to enter, uninvited.

Time seemed to slow for the two as a heavy object, lit like a candle hurdled above their heads, about the size of a large aircraft, startling everyone as they unnecessarily ducked and hit the deck. Shadow pulled the rose into his chest as he got down, hearing a deafening thud render the ground beneath them.

Once the chaos had subsided, the blue blur was the first to rise, looking in the direction of the forest ahead that was a large clearing and then a cacophony of trees, rustling and bending as if a windstorm had possessed their branches. Following behind the trees, a tower of smoke materialized, signifying the landing of the odd craft.

"I don't think that's a good sign."

As Shadow rose, with Amy in his grasp, her hands clutching at his shoulders and neck, head tucked into his fur, he followed Knuckles statement to find him standing fully, Rouge beside him, looking toward the remainder of the backyard with distress. He stood to his full height as Tails and Cream stood beside them.

"The aliens… the ones that attacked last night! Do you think that's them?" Cream mentioned suddenly to Tails. He shook his head.

"Not sure. But if it is the same people, bringing reinforcements, this won't be pretty."

The rest of the partiers stood, muttering nervously and slightly panicked. Sonic dashed to the DJ booth, grabbing the microphone.

"I'm sorry guys, but I think we need to officially call the remainder of the party off. Those of you who are not members or close associates of the former Freedom Fighters, please head home immediately. This is for your safety." Sonic ordered.

The guests wasted no time in cramming through the back door, drinks and food in hand, dispersing throughout the large living area to grab their belongings and bolt.

Those that remained were fighters, from Sonia, Manic, Blaze, Silver, the Chaotix to the remaining Sonic heroes, Sally, Rotor, Julie-Su, Mina, Antoine and Bunnie, all quiet, listening. Sonic dashed from the DJ booth, standing in front of the group at the edge of the porch, ears twitching, eyes watching.

Shadow released Amy entirely from his grasp, pushing her back and stepping forward a tad.

"I don't know if you've deduced this yet, faker, but whatever landed is headed toward us. And it's not a robot this time. I sense living forces."

Sonic turned his head with a sigh to acknowledge this piece of information.

"I kinda figured. But what is it this time?"

Tails stepped forward.

"My sensors indicate that this amount of energy moving at such a rate could only be result of about one-hundred and fifty men, running with all they've got." Tails was looking at his wristwatch again.

Knuckles grumbled.

"So, an army of alien men is headed our way. Grand. How are we going to hold that off until all the guests get a chance to get a good enough distance away?" Knuckles cracked his balled fists, already ticked.

Rouge's heels clicked.

"Oh hell no! These losers aren't making it past this porch! We take them all down or die trying! The last thing we need is to have a horde of alien weirdoes running rampant through Mobius, or worse, making a mess of my mansion." Rouge cracked her knuckles, unamused by the situation.

Amy stepped to stand next to Shadow. He looked down to her, but she was staring at Sonic, a look of urgent focus put forth.

"We need a plan, a quick one. I believe we have more than we need to stop this foe; we just need to work together and not be too hasty. What do you propose?" Amy nodded to the blue blur.

Sonic looked to her with an unsure gaze, to the ground and then to the others surrounding him. He shared eye contact with Rotor, Bunnie, Antonie, Espio and then Julie-Su, all prepared, ready to follow his lead. His passing gaze fell upon Sally, arms crossed, a neutral look across her face. She sighed, arms falling before she came to stand at his side, hand on his shoulder, their eye contact remaining. A message passed between the openings to their souls and Sonic found himself looking back at everyone, determination and a rough smirk adorning him.

"Alright, here's how this is going to go. I need a team of brawn at the frontlines with me, to hold and take the larger damage. A little ways behind, I'm going to need a line to hold the ones that get around us, preferably an air and stealth crew," Sonic ordered, looking to all the males, plus Julie-Su and Bunnie.

Tails tapped at his watch.

"Sonic, they're getting closer."

He ignored his two-tailed friend, looking everyone dead in the eye.

"I'll need these two lines to work offensively and strong. Our goal is to not let one pass us up."

A beeping came from Tails' watch, a warning. The kitsune looked up at his friend.

"Sonic."

"And for our last line of defense, our precious cargo," He muttered softly, looking warmly to the gathered females that normally stayed away from the frontlines.

The beeping picked up speed.

"Sonic!"

He smiled.

"We'll rely on you to eliminate the scraps that dare pass us up."

The beeping on Tails' watch became one sustained tone.

With the eerie sound resonating throughout, the group, on edge, awaited their leader's mark.

"Stay together. Don't let anyone fall. Fight like a class A resistance. Let's go!"

Sonic turned and hopped off of the porch, dashing down the clearing.

Right behind him, Knuckles trudged on like a red tank, smashing his feet into the ground as he launched off the porch, stomping through the light snow swiftly, firsts at the ready. Following close behind were Rotor, Bunnie, Mighty, Vector and Manic. Right after, Tails took flight, Charmy and Silver following suit, allowing the kit to lead them into the air. Blaze, Espio, Antoine, Julie-Su and Sonia pursued the flying coup on foot, keeping their position within their vision. Remaining on the porch, positioning themselves at farther distances as to ensure they caught all of the enemies, were Amy, Rouge, Cream, Sally, Mina and… Shadow.

The rose looked into the face of the ebony that remained, glaring at the battle ahead. She grabbed his arm, softly asking for attention.

"Shadow. What's wrong?"

He gave her a fierce gaze, growling with frustration.

"Something is going to go wrong. I cannot deny my intuition; we are going to fail tonight. What is most frustrating is I cannot pinpoint where our error lies to induce this feeling," he harshly muttered to her.

She gave him a hopeful smile, gripping his arm tighter.

"Don't worry, just fight like you have before. Although we rushed into the last battle, we won, right? We're a smart group, and a larger one at the moment. With trustworthy help, I'm sure we can put these guys in their place. Mobius is our home, and we'll do whatever we can to protect it," she encouraged.

He gave her a soft and helpless expression for a fraction of a second; her aura seeming to glow as Maria's did around her; that smile penetrating his soul…

But only doing so much to fill the void defeat had left within him. Despite this, he nodded to her, told her to remain safe and teleported to his position beside Sonic on the battlefront.

~aAa~

Standing at distances in a line on the frontlines, the heroes on the first line of defense waited, the eerie sound of Tails watch the only thing penetrating the silence along with the heavy rustling in the trees. Their quills bristled, every face focused, searching the trees for the oncoming threat. The light snow picked up, sifting through dirt and fur before falling before the three lines of defense.

The rose held her breath, mallet in hand, quills bristling sideways. To her left, Rouge awaited in flight, Cream and Mina at her sides. Sally stood, a calm determination taking over her being.

"Chaos, help us."

The ringing of the watch dropped into silence.

And the sun was beyond set.

Within seconds, silhouettes darker than the night emerged through the brush, stomping across the snow littered clearing. Everyone along the main front tensed, ready for the charging troops.

Sonic dashed forward first, smirking at the first couple of silhouettes now in his line of sight. As he leaped skyward to initiate his homing attack, the moonlight glinted off the first soldier's armor, revealing his smooth helmet, splashed with violet color, his brown muzzle the only thing visible from the under side of his head guard. The soldier glanced heavenward, unsheathing his sword much too late as Sonic came down on his armored figure with a low thud, smashing the man into the snow behind him, hopefully unconscious.

Sonic charged the second, punching as he dashed by, but was taken aback as his hand crashed into a thick breastplate. As he flipped backward to get away from the slightly dazed soldier, he examined his bruised hand with animosity.

"Well, whoever came to play sure knows how to suit up," he muttered with a smirk as Knuckles and Bunnie came running from his flanks.

As ten more soldiers emerged from the brush, Bunnie flew up, aiming her robotized hand in their direction, shooting. Knuckles ran up to a few, crushing his spiked paws into purple armor, growling as he rammed his knees and feet to keep the men from drawing closer to their home.

"I'll be damned if I let these scrubs touch a brick on our home! Raa!" Knuckles growl rang about him as he crushed armor after armor. He dodged swiftly the sharp attacks of their falling swords, grabbing the hilt from one soldier, disarming the fellow before he put him out of commission. But he could not avoid their weaponry; he did his best to remain unscathed as more surrounded him.

The madness escalated as twenty more soldiers smashed through the shrubbery, a low war cry forced from their mouths as they charged forward, dispersing in an effort to evade the frontline of heroes.

Rotor stomped into action, first being passed up by the faster Vector, whom of which ran dead into the larger mass, disappearing from view before many of the solders were knocked off of their feet. Rotor met with the first few, head butting them and punching the next array that came by him. He found vector and stood back to back with him as the horde grew, surrounding them as they marched past.

As thirty more pushed through, Mighty and Manic came running to meet them head on, Manic grabbing a charging soldier by the arms and getting him on the ground. As he tried to knee him, a sharp object sliced at his side from above. He yelped in pain as the soldier threw him off. Manic made to get up as he felt the shadow of his attacker loom over him and was bracing for another slice, when a gust bristled his fur. He looked up to see Mighty with his hand outstretched, a few soldiers about his feet, struggling. He took it willingly with a sheepish grin, rejoining him in the fight.

Shadow remained, glaring at the start of the battle ahead. There had yet to be a soldier that broke free and had come to his position, but it was too early to be hopeful. A little under half had showed their faces at any rate.

As the battle remained in his vision, about seven soldiers were running to get past him, running with their purpled and blacked out armor toward the porch, like robots program to reach a certain destination, that being the mansion. This didn't sit well with the ebony at all.

With bloody intent, the ebony teleported to the closest soldier, using his shoes to smash him in to submission, doing the same as he teleported to each escaping man, dealing the damage as he saw fit.

From the porch, the tense females watched with breaths caught, not sure how to help yet. All they could do was wait. The trouble had not come to them and yet they felt compelled to jump beyond the frontlines and deal with the threat themselves.

As the troops pushed through the first line, Blaze took in a breath and let a blaze her pyromania onto the snow-speckled ground. It took a moment, but she was able to light the remaining grass on fire, creating a flaming barrier between the last two lines of defense and the on coming soldiers. As she glared menacingly through the fire, she noticed the soldiers had stopped abruptly, looking to one another as to gage what to do. Then a soldier, with an intricate design carved though his helmet, stepped forward, looking to her with a growl.

"Return our fugitive princess and we will leave with minimal damage."

Blaze grit her teeth, embers flying from her hands into her barrier, making the flames flicker with malice. The flames lit her eyes demonically as the remainder of her front stood behind her, spread out accordingly.

"I don't think it's in your best interest to be giving orders here, sir," she said regally before she used her craft to open a hole in her pyro-barrier, ordering her friends to run through.

Swiftly running through, Espio dashed past, followed by Antonie, sword in hand, Julie-Su with a gun and Sonia with her fists balled. At their entrance, the few soldiers that had stopped before the barrier charged the new forces as the remainder of their back up flew past the trees behind them, clashing with the first front that struggled to keep their ground.

Amy looked to the flaming wall with adrenaline surging through her veins. Her heart pounded and her breath caught as Blaze hopped through the fire, closing up the space and blocking the remainder of the battle from her view. The girls shifted with anticipation, for all they could hear were clashing, smashing and cries that could be interpreted as either pain or rage.

Beyond the flames, Espio threw numerous ninja stars, confusing the soldiers that were unaccustomed to the stealthy weaponry. In their moment of panic, Espio dashed away, becoming invisible. Julie-Su shot at their armored bods, sliding under a soldier's leg to dodge his attack, getting up and blasting the guy in the back of his helmet. She looked beside her, seeing soldiers coming her way, when two were brought down by Sonia stomping on their heads, seeming to come from the sky. Within seconds, Tails flew overhead, blasting one of his inventions like no tomorrow, knocking out the soldiers that surrounded the girls. Sonia smiled to the echidna, punching a soldier and flipping over his body to confront more enemies. The echidna smirked at her mirth, looking above her as two other figures flew overhead.

Blaze held her ground, the cat in her reacting as she felt light when evading attacks, coming back down with balls of fire. She ended up farther from her flame barrier and in the center of the chaos when she felt the back of Antonie press against hers. Both had gashes from confronting numerous swords. She looked back to him, nodding as he clashed swords with a solider and Blaze conjured two fire whips, doing what she could to sear the armor off of the soldiers flesh. Just as the soldiers were closing in, a tree outlined in blue came swishing through, knocking half of the invaders off their feet. As aged leaves fell about the two, Silver smirked down to them, a sweat forming about his brow as he focused on destroying the menace and keeping his friends from his line of fire. Blaze smiled up to him, hopeful, as Charmy came flying in, stinging the soldiers that dared respond from their unconsciousness.

As it seemed the heroes were managing, the rest of the troops that had yet to show themselves emerged, charging all at once. The fighters beyond the fire, gasping for breath and surrounded by fallen soldiers, went straight for them, each disappearing into a mass of armor and swordplay.

As the noise increased and the night seemed to get darker, Sally stepped forward, at the edge of the porch, eyes squinting.

"There can't possibly be anymore troops than this," she muttered, ready to jump forward and attack herself.

With a courageous leap of faith, Amy stepped to her level, not daring to look at her, but deciding to speak.

"Do you think we'll have to engage in combat tonight?"

Sally was stiff, not sure whether to answer the rose or stay silent. She sighed a bit.

"I'm not sure, Amy, but be prepared, because whatever dares to come through that fire has to answer to us," she atoned with a smile to the battlefield.

The rose nodded, as her female companions readied themselves, joining them at the edge of the porch.

As the flames seemed to remain at their height, a sudden calm rendered the wall of flame straight, not one inch seeming to flicker as if there were no more fighting behind it. This made the females tense even more, standing well into their battle stances.

The wind was a mere whisper.

The moon, a large blip in the sky.

Without repose, masses of soldiers ripped through the fire as if they were fireproof, charging as their armor creaked from the force of their moving limbs.

The first to emerge from her perch was Sally, crying out as she met a soldier head on, grabbing his shoulders and flipping above him, talking him down with her. Rouge flew out like a dart, yelling out with a fit of rage as she stomped with her steel toed boots, flying to evade swords as Cream flew beside her, allowing a soldier to chase her as she lead him to a tree where he ran face first into the bark.

Mina dashed forward next, Amy right behind her. She was like a graceful dancer, seeming to spin to confuse her opponent and then quickly upper cutting him before pushing him to the ground, moving on to the next. Amy ran up to the first soldier in her sight, moving out of the range of his sword and using all of her might to cast her hammer down on his physique. She came up smiling at the satisfying smash that shook the ground about her. Another guy came at her and she took all the time she needed to trick him into coming closer to her, as if she weren't a threat and suddenly flipped out her hammer and smashed him sideways.

Chaos was sure to continue his aiding.

~aAa~

Fierce crimson orbs allowed the battle to play within his eyes as the surrounding soldiers ran about him. They had tried many a time to restrain the ebony, but the chaos powers within him would not have it. Neither would his companions.

Speaking of companions…

Sonic dashed in a circle about him, knocking the soldiers in various directions in an effort to divert them. He stopped next to Shadow, whom of which had a chaos spear within his palm, awaiting the first soldier to stand back up.

"They just won't budge, huh," the blue blur huffed, a sweat forming.

As a soldier clattered to stand on his feet, the ebony effortlessly tossed his spear, severing the head of the troop. The ebony looked to the hedgehog, not a hint of remorse evident.

"We need to attempt to end this battle as soon as possible. I have no positive inclinations with their presence and as long as they are here, we cannot relax," Shadow grumbled, pausing to send a chaos blast in the direction of a few soldiers.

Although they had downed many of the soldiers, it seemed they were easily replaced as more filled in the spaces of their fallen comrades. The ebony looked around as they were surrounded once again.

"Alright, time to finish these guys for good," Sonic ordered, new set of determination taking over.

As Shadow began to pick through the men one by one, he stopped when he felt something wasn't right. Someone was down or somehow out of commission. He instantly struggled through the men, pushing them aside as he dodged their swords, looking for fallen comrades. He just hoped he was in time.

~aAa~

Small patches of fire were still lit about the battle, dwindling with each waking moment, but lasting until the end.

Cream maneuvered around the armored fools with a trained stealth about her, but her stamina was at its wits end. She took a moment to land and instantly a soldier came dashing toward her.

Cream squealed, rolling under the foe before running away from him to a clutter of men.

She flew above their heads as they saw her come to them, panting as she flapped her ears in a panic. The adrenaline in her tiny body surged when she felt a hand on her foot, yanking her down.

"Ahh! No!"

She kicked at the soldier's helmet, coming free, but with a dire consequence.

The bunny lost her flight balance and without warning came crashing down onto the snowy turf. She gasped with breath as the air had been knocked out of her. Just as she opened her eyes from the impact, darkness shed over her vision as a sack muffled her screams.

"No! Please, let me go!"

The fighting team members heard her cry for help, but the first to react without a second thought was the two tailed fox himself. He looked about frantically, searching for her. He took to the air.

"Cream! Where are y-" he called, but was brought down by a soldier that jumped on his back.

Espio was near by and shot a ninja star to take the soldier out, pushing the menace off of Tails, but was ravaged by five more soldiers that surrounded the heroes.

"No! Where is she?" Tails questioned the soldiers as they grabbed at he and the chameleon.

"Tails, snap out of it! We need to eliminate them first before we can help anyone else!" the chameleon hollered as he kicked and struggled through.

Cream struggled to get free, but her air was limited and after a minute, she passed out from the panic and oxygen depletion.

Tails was brought to his senses, only to freak when he heard her screams of white-hot fear render the air about them. And that's when he saw the men, circled around her a distance away, stuffing his precious girlfriend into a brown sack, a larger soldier tossing her over his shoulder and stomping away, back toward the forest area.

"NO! LET HER GO!"

Smashing armor after armor under a heated sweat, Rouge heard the kitsune's strangled cry of agony and turned, distracted, to witness the last of the scene, panicking herself.

"No!" she screamed, headed in her direction to help, but she felt strong arms peel her down to the surface, wrapping around her mouth and shoulders. The spy struggled, but the man was much to heavy to fight off. As he brought her flesh up against him, the bat looked skyward witnessing the aircraft that had landed and allowed for all of this to happen.

The ship could be seen above the treetops, lights shining about it, the front like a curved Viking horn, but with a little more grace. Its presence shook the ground, rattling their ribs and settled as the craft moved above the clearing. Ropes were dispatched and soldiers made their way to the means of escape.

She was snapped from her stupor as the man who held her steadfast hit her in the gut. She growled.

"Hey, let me go, asshole!"

As she made another attempt to escape, her cry was heard across the clearing, but many of the heroes that tried to help her were pushed back by a multitude of men.

But Knuckles wouldn't let that stop him.

When he heard her cry, he charged right through the men with the roar of a lion. He looked to and fro, trying to pinpoint her position.

"Rouge!"

But in his haste, he turned to see a soldier step right into his path and in an instant the man sliced a gash through the echidna's arm. He staggered back, holding his arm.

"Gah!"

Rouge continued to get away as another man charge to help her captor.

"Knuckles!"

But with her cry came a stab from the second soldier with a blunt object that zapped the bat into submission. After the shock, her ears shrunk low, her body went limp and she was shoved into a bag just the same as her rabbit friend.

All the while, the rose fought on.

When she heard her rabbit friend's call for help, she ran to find her. But as she was coming close, men surrounded her once again and she struggled to get away, having no stamina to fight through them. As a soldier grabbed for her, a figure pushed the fiend back. Amy smiled as Sally flipped the man over her shoulder, panting like no tomorrow. Sally looked to her with a nod and they stood back-to-back, sending soldiers into the snow.

When Rouge cried out, both females were distracted, going into a panic, trying to get away from the crowd of men that just wouldn't let up.

"Rouge, hold on!"

Sally ran toward the bats voice, but Amy watched in fright as a soldier got lucky shot at Sally, elbowing her in the back, leaving her there, unconscious.

"Sally!" the rose screamed, but as she ran to help her, a tall soldier stepped into her path, sack in hand. The rose's breath caught in her throat as she was frozen for only a second.

And then his voice pierced her pause.

"Please forgive me, sister."

The sack enveloped her form, eradicating her senses.

~aAa~

The ebony continued to look, still unsure of which of his comrades he was looking to help. Every soldier in his path was sure to be dead; he made sure of it at that moment. But as he accomplished this, it seemed the lasting men were picking up their downed men and running to the falling ropes the ebony had yet to see appear. He gazed heavenward to see the ship that had landed earlier, retaking its troops. But the ebony could still feel the void. Someone was missing. No, more than one.

As the ebony kicked a soldier that was on his way to the ship, his breath caught as his eyes shook with realization.

_Rose_.

He stood still, focusing at the spaces between the retreating soldiers. Manic was crushing a soldier's head into the ground. Sonic was arm to arm with a man, Knuckles near him in a heap on the ground. Vector hand Rotor by the shoulders, carrying the injured walrus to safety as Mina, Bunnie and Julie-Su surrounded them to keep any men from harming them. Charmy zoomed about, stopping to help Espio and Silver with Sally. Tails was crawling in his direction on his stomach. Shadow made desperate eye contact with his kitsune friend, a message passing through them.

_Rouge. Cream. Where are they?!_

The ebony twisted around to the ship, as the last of the soldiers climbed aboard the ropes, the ship leaning away, preparing to take off.

_No._

The ebony skated with haste to the ship, stopping for nothing.

_NO!_

Just as a rope was to be grabbed by his hand, the ship zipped from existence just like that, leaving the ebony on his knees in the snow, gazing unknowingly into the star speckled sky. The breeze ruffled his quills and the helmets of deceased soldiers. The flames about them were blown out.

And they were gone.

~aAa~

A/N: Okay, this is in edit in an effort to fix the lengthiness in my chapters. An update will come soon.


	6. Captor's Will

Hey guys!

Here's the next installment. Hopefully it's much more entertaining than the last few. I know the beginnings can seem somewhat sluggish when trying to get through it, but know that things pick up from this point on!

In Third Person

Chapter 5: Captor's Will

"RAAA!"

Knuckles' roar resonated through the emptied mansion as he smashed his fists against the coffee table, only adding to the miserable state their home had succumbed to.

Shoes and other clothing items were scattered across the darkened living room along with red cups and paper plates. The couches were moved to odd angles and the curtains flapped against the midnight breeze that blew in from the opened windows. Although the guests had made it out safely, they not only left a mess, but also disregarded their own belongings and made exits for themselves, like the windows and backyard gate. All that lit the house was the light of the Mobian moons.

Tails was positioned next to Knuckles on the largest couch, sitting on the opposite end, setting up something. He was hurried but calm, a determination set about him as he fixated two peculiar objects set on the coffee table. Knuckles covered his face with his palms, frustrated.

"How the hell did this happen?"

Knuckles ran his paws across his dreads, revealing his tired eyes. He could hold his liquor, but the drinks did not help with his riveting emotions. He was upset, angry, frustrated, exhausted and fearful all at the same time.

"What could they possibly want with Rouge? Or Cream and Amy for that matter?" Knuckles muttered, looking at his palms.

Shadow stood across the room by the front door, leaning against the wall, staring out the open front window, arms crossed.

Knuckles shifted to look at Shadow, his brows furrowing.

"And why are you just standing there, huh? I thought you cared about Amy."

Shadow shot his gaze to the echidna, glowering at him as he bared his canines.

"Knuckles calm yourself! What good is it to bicker when we should be formulating a means to rescue them?"

Knuckles was shocked for an instant and then looked down, ashamed.

"Sorry. I just… don't know what to do. Where do we start? We have no idea where they're being taken, or if they're even alive at this point."

Shadow closed his eyes, leaning back once more.

"Just let Miles think. He has the tracking technology and it is best that we act once we are sure whether or not we can locate their whereabouts," the ebony explained, motioning to Tails spot on the couch.

From closer inspection, the kit was tinkering with what looked like one of his many portable computers. Connected to it by a thick cord was a generator and on the other side, plugged into the computer by various cords, was an odd platform. The platform had small metal limbs that pointed toward each other, looking like some sort of triangular display.

Tails flipped multiple switches, moving wires about and positioned the platform. He waited, his twin tails twitching as the screen was still black.

"Whoever these guys are, I don't care what they're excuse is, I'm beating them to a bloody pulp when I find them," Knuckles growled darkly, imagining the soldiers that had attacked.

Shadow walked over to the side of the couch, watching the computer screen pointedly. Knuckles looked up to him.

"Why do you think they took them?"

Shadow responded without looking at him.

"I am not entirely sure. If they suspected that their 'princess' was among our ranks, then they would have only taken one of the females. And why did they not take Sally? She is the only royalty that I am aware of."

Knuckles rubbed his bandaged arm. Sally and Sonic had left to castle Acorn to get patched up, taking the other fighters and leaving only the three remaining heroes to make arrangements for the rescue.

"I know. It doesn't make sense. Unless the girls aren't telling us something," Knuckles muttered.

"I doubt that."

"You seem pretty composed after being attacked twice in a row, and having our teammates taken right from under us. What's up with you?"

"There is nothing wrong. I am focused. That is all there is to it."

Knuckles scoffed.

"You don't seem concerned. What are you even ganna do when you see those soldiers again? Or their leader for that matter."

Knuckles regretted asking such questions as the ebony looked right into the eyes of the echidna, the depths of his fiery orbs seeming to burn with the flames of hell. His face was darkened with malice.

"Medieval forms of torture will not be enough to satiate my revenge when we find the peasants that took Rose and the others away," Knuckles was frozen as Shadow gave him the full brunt of his glare, "And their leader will wish he'd died by another's hands once I have him in my grasp. His death will be one of suffering."

Knuckles released a sweat, looking away. He should have known a demon was hiding under Shadow's usual mask.

Just as their conversation came to a halt, Tails computer booted up, the screen displaying a green background and multiple icons. The kitsune quickly typed and clicked away, before a fuzzy digital ball materialized between the limbs of the platform, glowing.

"Whoa," Knuckles muttered, as the computer and growing sphere lit up all three of their faces.

After a moment, the ball began to turn a navy blue and an assemblage of planets within their solar system was shown throughout hologram. Between their own planet and another, a green dot materialized and began to blink.

Tails released a sigh of utter relief, a few hopeful tears coming to his eyes.

"Thank Chaos."

Shadow stood closer to the kitsune, looking over his shoulder.

"What is it, Tails?"

"I thought Cream had gotten rid of the tracking and communication device I'd given her, but it looks like she kept her word. If all of them are together, this is where they are relative to Mobius," he explained, regaining his composure and pointing to the dot. He began to type vigorously on the laptop as Knuckles looked over.

Numbers flitted across his screen. All at once he stopped, holding down a specific key and put his mouth to the mini microphone embedded in the platform.

"Cream. Cream, it's Tails. Do you read me?"

At this point, static was all that could be heard.

"Cream. Cream, are you there? Are you safe? Where are you headed? Cream, do you copy?"

No response.

The kitsune flipped a switch or two and tried once more.

"Cream. Cream please, tell me you're all right. I… we need to know that you're okay," Tails muttered, desperate. He put his head down, nearly in tears.

Shadow grabbed his shoulder, waiting. As the kit composed him self and looked up, he saw the resolve in Shadow's gaze.

Tails calmed, sitting straight with a sniffle. With a new thought, he began to type away.

"It looks like the connection is just strained. I'm sure when we get close enough to where they are, we will be able to talk to them just fine," Tails concluded, hopeful.

Knuckles cracked his fists.

"Well, we can track them. Why don't we teleport into the ship, wreck shit up, find the girls and teleport out?"

"As simplistic as that sounds and as satisfying that may be, my powers do not work entirely in that way. I'm certain something will go wrong if I try to teleport into an unknown object moving quickly in the immensity of space. We may end up on the outside of it or in between a wall of the ship. It's not that simple, Knuckles," Shadow explained.

"Not to mention we're outnumbered and overriding an alien ship is way more complex than it sounds. Although I may be capable, we should leave something like that as our last resort," Tails added.

Knuckles sighed.

"Alright, what do you two propose?"

Shadow looked at Tails.

"Miles has quite the project pinned up in his workshop," Shadow mentioned.

The kit rubbed his chin.

"Yeah, I do."

"What is it?" Knuckles asked.

"It's a ship that can be used for intensive space travel. I was building it to contribute to our local space knowledge expansion program."

Knuckles looked stern.

"Is it operable?"

Tails stood, pacing.

"With the work I've put into it, it's fit to fly, but there are still a few installation bugs, not to mention the shield and teleportation functions I've been meaning to trouble shoot. Other than that, there's a whole list of functions and accessories I still need to implement and reinstall that will make the ship the best for extended travel…" the kit was trailing off.

Knuckles stood up, abruptly.

"So it's settled. We fly to their rescue, no matter the distance nor the cost."

"We needn't waste anymore time. What will we need, Miles?" Shadow questioned.

"We'll need to contact the Chaotix so they can watch over things in our absence. Other than that, we should gather two weeks worth of food, clothes for the girls, health supplies and any extra things we could use in case of an emergency."

"Understood. At what time are we expected to depart?" Shadow asked.

"Give me thirty minutes. Have all the supplies on the ship by then."

"Aye aye, capt'n," Knuckles saluted the kitsune, before storming the mansion for supplies.

~aAa~

Amy groaned as she sat upright, wrapping her arms around herself as she allowed her eyes to adjust to the weighted darkness. It seemed she was on the steel ground of a room as she twisted about to see the stars glittering through the massive window behind her.

As she scooted to reach the window, her hand jammed a seemingly clear barrier. With wide eyes, she placed both arms on the barrier.

"Glass…" she muttered.

"Amy?"

The rose looked left of her to find Rouge trapped in a glass bubble of sorts, resting like an over sized wine class turned over around her, controlled by a strange contraption overhead. She realized that her barrier was the same, aside from the size difference, for Rouge not only remained in her trap, but she held an unconscious Cream in her arms.

"Rouge! Are you all right? Is Cream breathing?"

"Yes. I'm fine and Cream is breathing. It's just a little tight in here is all," Rouge replied, voice strained, a sweat visible. She looked like she was having a hard time staying conscious. Although it was slightly bigger, the glass had made her oddly claustrophobic.

"Hold on. Let me see if I can break this glass."

Amy stood, preparing herself for the weight of her weapon. Before the determined rose could summon her trusty hammer, the bat stopped her.

"Wait. You probably shouldn't do that. For one, this material isn't the glass we're use to. Trust me, I tried cracking it earlier. Plus, we're on a ship filled with soldiers and we don't know where we're headed."

The rose stared as an epiphany hit her. Rouge was right. The rose slouched back onto her steel-floored entrapment as the attack and the capture flitted though her memory.

"How long have we been here?" the rose whispered, her voice like a frightened child in a lonely room.

"Not sure. My latest guess was two hours, but I'm not sure. I don't have anything to tell time on me."

"Have you been conscious this whole time?"

"Just about. I saw the soldiers throw Cream in here and then you before trapping us and heading out that door over there," she motioned to the sliding double doors that were barely visible, "and there was quite a bit of noise going on the last hour, but it seems the troops have settled down."

Amy stiffened at the thought of everything "settling down." That meant that these "aliens" had gotten what they wanted and were headed home to celebrate their victory. It also meant that they had no reason to turn back to Mobius.

"Did you here them speak? Was it in our language? Did they mention where we were headed?"

Rouge shook her head.

"Not a word. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if those scrubs were all robots."

Amy chuckled at her friend's trial at humor at the given situation, but the stress and panic just came back, tightening her throat. What were they to do? Were her teammates on their way to rescue them? Rouge had none of her spy gear on her for communication and Amy relied singularly on her hammer. Maybe they were to just sit and wait, another thought that didn't sit too well with the rose.

At present, the sliding doors released a pointed sigh and crisply came open, revealing a stiff-shouldered soldier. Clad in silver armor, littered with purple intricacies, he stepped inside, allowing the doors to clam shut.

Amy was frozen, staring at the knight, taking in his countenance. He seemed so surreal. She backed to the other end of her glass trap, stern, but afraid of the knight's authority. Rouge was guarded and exhausted. Her grip on the preteen against her tightened.

He looked about him before directing his helmeted vision to Amy. He walked over, stiff and proper, getting on one knee as he pressed a claw to the glass.

"Please, do not be afraid. I assure you, I am here only for the benefit of your well-being."

Amy remained cornered at the back of her cage, her heart pounding, face guarded.

"Amelia, please. Do not be alarmed. I am the last armor-clad man you should fear."

She did not know this man, but the way his voice quivered with remorse, made her wonder if he was planning on helping them escape. And the fact that he knew her name was baffling.

"H-how do you know my name?"

The space where the knight's mouth was seen under his beaked helmet was visible to the shriveling rose, and she noted the small and saddening smile that curved underneath it.

"If I had ever known a rose with any other name, I am sure I could distinguish between it's existence and the utter sweetness that your presence expels, princess."

Her emerald orbs quivered. Crawling, she came close.

"Amy…" Rouge cautioned, but the rose disregarded her as she pressed both palms to the glass, as if to connect to him. She searched his guarded face, looking for answers.

"I don't understand."

"Do not worry. We will be home in due time, princess, and I will do everything in my power to keep that bastard prince from tainting your petals." The knight spoke with a heated and hard voice. It was as if he were holding back a rage.

Amy's eyebrows furrowed.

"What do you mean? Where is home?"

The knight paused.

A miserable sigh followed.

"You really don't remember, do you, Amelia? Not a thing."

Amy simply blinked, confused beyond belief.

Before he could proceed, a buzzing came to the knight's wrist. He started, standing and dismissing the call to action.

"I am being summoned. I must take my leave."

The rose stood abruptly.

"Wait! Will you be back? How will I know where to find you?"

The knight came back to the glass, face close.

"Stay calm, Amelia. For now, stay within Prince Riven's graces and follow his orders. If you wish to come out alive, you must do what I have done."

There was a pause, only the breath of the ruffled knight audible.

"And what have you done?"

"Played the prince's game. Amelia, you must not try to escape him. At least not yet. He is too powerful to deny at present and will stop at nothing until you are his wife."

"Riven?" Amy tried the name on her mouth, memorizing it.

"Although you must not trust anyone dressed in armor, it is crucial that you know that only half of the accounted soldiers are specifically from the Prince's ranks. Keep this in mind, it will put your mind at ease," the knight explained.

He placed a hand on his heart, head bowed.

"But know that we are all at his beck and call. Even I am bound to his decree. Our country cannot afford my banishment, so I must. No, I cannot fail. Not if I am to help our country by unveiling the prophecy."

"Wait. This doesn't make sense. His wife? I don't even know this man!"

Amy's muffled cries could not reach the knight as he backed away toward the exit. Stomping sounded outside the door.

"I must go. Keep hope, dear sister. I will be around to monitor you after landing. I will ensure the dark prince is on his best behavior."

He bowed in Rouge's direction.

"Farewell ladies."

He turned hurriedly, allowing the automatic doors to open for him. He paused, hand on the doorframe as soldiers stormed by in front of him, illuminated by the halls purple light. His head turned.

"Stay strong, Amelia. And, please, forgive me."

And with that, the knight was gone, becoming one with the river of knights that flooded the hallway. All that remained in Amy's thoughts of him was the stainless white tassel that hung from his sword hilt, fluttering with movement and contrasting with his armor as he dashed away.

The silence seemed to hurt as the door slammed shut.

"Well, at least we know that one of them is not a robot."

~aAa~

The ebony walked swiftly down the darkened steps to Tails workshop. As he entered, duffle bag in hand, he noticed the large space, with ceilings as high as the three-story mansion, was in stranger disarray than before.

The thick wires that hung from the ceiling swung with sparks at their ends. Only a few were connected to the massive ship that stood as the elephant in the room. All other inventions were skewed sideways across the room, tables with tools and doors lining the walls. The ebony had restored the electricity to the mansion as he'd notified the Chaotix and other contacts of their coming absence.

Shadow crossed the walkway leading to the ship's entrance, stepping over heaps of scrap metal. As he peered inside, he noticed the two columns of seats in the center and then the four seats lined across the massive control panel that was towered by a blackened, concave screen.

Shadow came in, placing his bag on a chair, claiming his spot. The kitsune sat at the center console, typing vigorously at the tablet in hand that was connected to the console. A variety of colored buttons and levers were lined along the console.

"What is left, Miles?"

"Almost done with the ship's diagnostics. Just need to start her up, grab all the space units, tools and fuel in case of emergency and we can be on our way. Oh, and if you could check if there is proper bedding in the sleeping space in the door behind you, that would be great," he explained without looking away from his screen.

As the ebony turned to do as he was asked, Knuckles walked in, carrying three boxes, each about the size of his head. As he did so, the ship took in a breath of life as the kitsune started the engine. The bright light dimmed and a softer light that lined the ceilings edges glowed about them. The screen came to life, showing only the light of the moon and the trees ahead of them peering from the opened workshop door.

Knuckles dropped the boxes at Shadow's feet, whistling with approval.

"I'd say this baby is ready to fly," he commented.

The kitsune continued to type as he spoke.

"There are still many improvements needed. Like the expansion to the kitchen and rooming. I have yet to install the program that allows me to pinpoint another ship's projected destination; neither do I have the full protective barrier that I have been meaning to create. It is far from complete."

Knuckles sighed.

The concave screen began to display the map of the their solar system. The green dot from before blinked with location.

"What's the verdict, Tails?" Knuckles asked.

"From what I can see, that ship that has them is about a quarter away past our neighboring planet, heading away from our sun. According to my calculations, the ship they're on is moving much slower than when they first departed. My guess is that they are in cruising mode, more or less. This gives us about thirty minutes to an hour to depart in enough time to catch up to them without expelling too much fuel," he explained.

"I am assuming you have already conducted a plan, Miles?" Shadow was certain.

"Yes. We infiltrate the ship and retrieve them before the ship reaches the destination. It's similar to knuckles plan, just with the reinforcement of my ship."

"And what should happen if we cannot retrieve them before landing?"

Tails looked him dead in the eye.

" We follow them into the planet and lay low. Once we find out where they are, I'll try to contact Cream and we can form a plan of action. The fuel the ship uses is easier to replenish on land than in space, so even if we're running low, I can get us back home."

Shadow nodded.

The kitsune unplugged his tablet, setting it away and approaching the two.

"Did you bring all the supplies?"

Knuckles grunted.

"Two weeks worth of food, clothes and all the transportable medical supplies from the medical wing, just as you ordered," Knuckles said, patting the boxes.

"Great. We depart shortly, gentlemen. Take this time to acquaint yourselves with the ship."

~aAa~

Amy awoke, having not remembered ever falling asleep. She looked about her to see that she was in a room similar to the last, but with the absence or her companions and a long, metallic shelf framed the bottom length of the massive window before her. She laid on a large, lush bed that faced the stars and a vase with oddly shaped purple flowers was set on the side table next to her head.

She sat up, feeling somewhat sore and disturbed. Had someone jabbed her in various places on her body? Sure felt like it. Then, she started.

"My clothes!"

She stood from the bed, taking the cloth of a short and silky lavender nightgown between her hands. It was thin, leaving nothing to the imagination as the top sunk low and the delicate straps lined with lace ruffles revealed her cleavage. She pulled it up, but it was no use. The dress was made to be that way.

She noticed that she no longer had her bra and her underwear was changed as well. She was barefoot and adorned a thin, silver chained anklet on one leg and a bracelet on one arm. Her quills had been brushed and braided elegantly into one plait down her back. She sniffed, smelling herself. She'd been bathed as well.

She blushed.

To her understanding, all the people on this ship were soldiers, which implied that the majority were men.

Even then, she did not feel comfortable with a woman from an alien planet bathing her.

As she rubbed her upper arms for comfort and warmth, she tried to find solace by getting closer to the window. The planets seemed to be getting smaller and farther away. Was this the back of the ship?

"I hope they're on their way."

A familiar sigh signified the opening of the door, as the sound of boots clicking against the steel alerted her. The rose turned abruptly, plastering her self against the shelf as she looked into stark lavender eyes.

"Finally, you are in my possession."

Amy stared, worried and defensive. She watched his every move as he stalked toward her, languidly.

He was a cat-like man. His fur was a mundane grey and his hair was unevenly cut and scattered about his shoulders. A crown of sorts was draped across his forehead with three oval-like jems. He possessed shoulder armor and sharp, riveting metal gauntlets. He possessed no chest armor, but had a thin, skin tight black turtle neck without sleeves. He wore tights, covered by a detailed belt and armored boots that reached past his thighs. His sword seemed to glow with lavender power as he came near. He smirked with a frighteningly sexy expression that threw Amy for a loop.

"And to think, you were hidden away on the very planet I suspected, and yet, I doubted myself. I thought that your father would be smarter than to hide you in the very site of the seeker," the man laughed. He was in front of her now, so close, she could feel his breath on her forehead.

"Oh, how I've waited, dear princess. I want you to know how desperately I've searched for you." He ran his fingers through her lingering bangs, thumbing her cheek. Her blush was deep and uncomfortable. She did not know how to respond.

"What is it, my betrothed? Are you so intrigued by me that you are at a loss for diction?"

She blinked, looking away.

"I-I… umm. Sorry, I just…" She was overwhelmed. If this was the Prince Riven the knight from before had mentioned, what was she to do? How was she supposed to play along with his game when she didn't even know the rules?

"Ah, or is it that you want me to take you right here and now?"

Amy looked to him, confused.

His hands fell to her hips, his head leaning toward her cheek. He pulled at her, pressing her against him, kissing the heated skin.

"Is that what you want?" he whispered in her ear.

Her heart rate picked up. She instinctively brought her arms to press against his chest, rejecting him.

"No, wait. I—ah!"

He began pecking at the delicate skin of her neck, a thrumming sound vibrating in his throat in approval at her reaction to the touch.

"Is this your favorite spot, my beloved? Is this how I obtain your submission?"

Amy pressed against his chest harder, squirming.

"Stop. Please, I don't even know you!"

The prince growled, suddenly kissing her neck heatedly, forcing himself on her. He sucked at the skin, causing the rose to tremble and whimper, as she continued to press away from him. He was definitely formidable in his strength.

"N-no! Please! Y-you'll… l-leave a mark. Ahh," she whimpered as loud as possible. Although she doubted it, if she were loud enough, maybe the knight from before would come to her aid.

"But that is the goal, my little prize."

Amy froze. The prince made eye contact.

"I am to conquer you and make you one of my own!" The glint in his eye was sickly and demented.

He proceeded to pull the straps off her shoulders, sucking hungrily on the delicate skin near her breasts.

"No! Not here!"

In one fluid motion, the prince picked up the rose, tossing her unto the bed, straddling her, as she lay helpless and distraught. He grinned evilly down to her, eyes glowing.

"Oh, then maybe you'd like it in this position? I rather quite like it, my dear."

He continued his ministrations by lifting up her dress and kissing on her stomach. At this, the rose could take it no longer.

"No!"

With a shout, the rose summoned her hammer, knocking the head of the prince sideways with a thud to the ground. She held her breath, knowing very well that she most likely made the situation worse.

The prince was seething with anger and he held his bruised cheek. The glow from his eyes seemed to turn to fire as he stalked toward the vulnerable rose.

"Oh, you like it rough, don't you?"

~aAa~

The ship that roared with life was now floating off the grounds of the workshop. The door remained open as the echidna stood near, his dreads flying about. He pushed them away from his face, looking at the two at the center console at the other end of the ship.

Tails sat at the main seat, analyzing the diagnostics on his main touch screen embedded in the console. Shadow stood beside him, attending to him. He understood very little of what the kitsune was performing, but he knew that things were about to set off when he began furiously typing on the console for the first time.

"I think we're ready to go. Knuckles, secure the door, please."

"Gotcha," the echidna saluted, and proceeded to slide the heavy door across the opening.

And just as the door was nearly secured, a gloved hand latched onto the end.

"Huh?"

The echidna pushed the door ajar to see Sally Acorn and the blue blur, hair flying about, eyes squinted. Sally possessed a knapsack, located on her back, while Sonic simply carried what was on him, his socks, shoes and gloves, which is all he ever needed.

"Sonic? What are you doing here?"

The blue blur crossed his arms, with his trademark smirk.

"You really think I'd turn down this chance to go on a space adventure? Man, Knux, you must not know me at all!"

Knuckles gritted his teeth.

"This isn't your typical adventure, Sonic! This is serious! It's a rescue mission and we don't need your speedy tail messing anything up," Knuckles explained. He normally wouldn't care, but the fact that the lives of his teammates and lover were at risk really set him on edge. This wasn't a game and he wouldn't be sane until they were safe.

By this time, Tails and Shadow had looked over, simply watching.

"Knuckles, we need to go!" Tails shouted over the noise.

Sonic hopped on, turning to lend the princess a hand onto the ship. Once she was on, he picked her up bridal style, walking right by the frustrated echidna.

"Thanks for letting us on, buddy."

As they passed him by, Sally muttered a "sorry" to him, looking rather guilty.

Knuckles shook his head, sealing the door and securing the five locks it possessed.

Sonic set his princess into one of the seats in the row, walking to the other side of Tails.

"Nice of you to join us, Sonic," the kitsune muttered, acknowledging the hedgehog.

"Happy to be doing the joining, buddy, but where exactly are we headed?"

The kitsune pushed a lever forward slowly. The ship slowly came forward, coming out of the workshop garage.

"We don't know. We only have Cream's tracking device as a guide and even that can be seen as unreliable. I'm predicting it will be a place out of our solar system, all things considered."

The blue blur went silent, thinking about the possibilities. He glanced to the other side of his little brother to see Shadow, arms crossed, watching the concave screen before them. Without looking over, he grumbled.

"What is it, faker?"

Sonic smirked.

"I get the feeling that you don't want me here, Shads," he said, shaking his head.

The ebony's ears twitched at the nickname, but he did not respond. He glanced over to the princess who sat near; fully buckled in her seat, backpack in her lap. She glanced at the ebony, smiling with a nod, and then turned back to the screen before her.

He looked at the blue blur that was still watching him.

"Why'd you bring her?"

Sonic's eyebrows furrowed.

"You got a problem with Sal?"

"I have a problem with unwanted attention and additional issues."

Sonic growled, fists clenching.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

The ebony's voice went up a notch.

"It means that she may not only bring the attention of the men we are going after, but she may also end up becoming a victim of capture, just like Amy, Rouge and Cream."

Sonic just stared, the epiphany hitting him. Hard. He looked away, a sweat appearing.

"And if another issue arises at this point, we may end up spending more time in space then our transportation can afford. And what good are we as heroes if we're stuck in space?" the ebony concluded.

All was silent, until the Tails commanded compliance.

"Everyone buckle up. Take off will be a bit rough, and we'll be hitting it at full speed until the ship comes into view."

And with a countdown, the heroes were propelled out into the infinite expanse before them.

~aAa~

The prince was prepared to lung at the near crying rose, when an alarm sounded about the air.

"Beeep! Beeep! Beeep!"

The prince shared a long, intense and condescending stare with her. He promptly cleared his throat, regaining his cold composure.

"We shall continue later. Please rest, my dear."

The prince walked near the door, pressing a button in the infinite darkness of the space. The button blinked as the prince put his hands behind his back.

"Oh, and before I attend to the ship, please understand that everything I do… is for your benefit, princess."

As he says this, the door swishes open, and a stiff knight briskly marches in, standing in front of the quivering rose, covering herself with the covers of the bed as best she can.

"My prediction is that we will meet again after landing, princess. Do be prepared."

The prince backed away as the knight grabbed at her arms roughly, earning tears from the rose as she cried out, defiant.

"That hurts! Please, stop! Why are you doing this?"

Amy is pushed face first into the bed as her arms are cuffed painfully behind her. All she saw was the chiseled back of the prince as the emergency lights flickered dangerously about him. The door consumed him.

~aAa~

After being launched into space and riding the hyper drive for quite a while, the ship full of heroes had made it to where the ship in question was just a dot before them, growing at their approach. From what Tails could deduce, the ship was between seven to ten times the size of their own space craft, which explained why it didn't take as long to catch up, their ship seeming like a pebble rolling down a hill versus a bolder, with trees and other debris slowing its descent. This also made sense, considering their ship was fit for maybe fifteen individuals, while the enemy ship looked like it could maintain a colony of people.

"Okay, let's get down to business. Sonic, Shadow, I'm going to need you two to man the canons. They are controlled using the panels on either side of me."

Sonic hopped out of his seat, anxious to do something. He sat in the chair at Tails' right, grabbing hold off two analog sticks of sorts, whooping.

"Wooo! All right! Ready for action, little buddy!"

Shadow sat on the kitsune's left, buckling his self in and proceeding to acquaint his self with the technology.

"Knuckles, you will be putting on a space unit. They're in the room on your left along with the deployment shoot. After putting the suit on, you will be deployed on my mark. I will do my best to make sure you land in a spot on the ship without many soldiers, but I make not promises. You may have to fight your way through."

Knuckles stands from his seat, nodding.

"Understood."

The kitsune turned to him.

"Sally, please accompany him to the room and ensure he assembles the suit correctly. You'll see instructions near his unit. When I deploy you, latch on to the ship and make a way through. I'll try my best to get you to a docking station where a door will be placed. But a window may have to do. Remember, when you bust through to either close the door behind you, or get to a point where you can open a door and then close it behind you. If you don't, you'll suffocate all those in the ship without space suits, including the girls."

Sally unbuckled herself, standing and brushing herself off.

"What else should we be aware of, Tails?" she asked.

"Once inside, there is a button on the right of the space suit, located on the right leg. It will release an expanding space transport bubble that should fit all three of the girls. Put them in, secure the lock and contact me. At that point, we'll reel you back to the ship and we'll make our escape then."

"Understood." And with that, Sally and Knuckles hurried to the deployment station.

Tails turned back to his console, sliding a finger across his touch screen, looking for something. Then, a yellow bubble seemed to appear around them. Shadow looked to the kitsune, eyebrow raised.

"Miles, I thought the barrier was not yet in development."

Tails scratched his head.

"Well, it was one of the first things I developed, it's just not yet complete. I'm putting it up now to see if it will hold during the rescue. It will extend the time we need to find them and hopefully minimize the damage," the kitsune explained, unsure of himself.

Sonic pat his shoulder, giving him a thumbs up.

"Don't worry, little buddy. We'll make it through. You inventions are always A plus!"

Tails smiled, but looked forward, becoming serious.

"It's time. Sonic, Shadow. Shoot anything you see coming out of that thing, men, missiles and flying debris. We need to make way for Knuckles deployment."

"Understood."

"Heard you loud and clear, little buddy!"

Those at the center console turned serious as Tails picked up speed, flying along side the large ship, looking for a docking point.

As he did this, he noticed lights began to flash on board and movement was barely seen along the massive tinted windows. He flew faster, heading up and around the ship to get to the other side.

"Ready yourselves."

Just as Tails flew over the peak of the ship, a swarm of soldiers, trapped in flying black and purple pods came flying toward them. The first shot a blast of pink at them, gaining their attention. It hit the barrier, bouncing off and hitting another enemy ship instead, destroying it.

"Ha! Take this you alien weirdoes!" Sonic bellowed, taking his aim and shooting.

Shadow did the same, taking down as many in one shot as he could. As Tails reached the other side of the ship, debris from the destroyed enemy pods flew about them as they dipped right into a new swarm, the madness escalating. Noise vibrated the ship and the attacks rattled the controls.

Tails began to sweat, gripping the controls.

"Hold on to something!"

And with that, he twisted his controls, spinning the ship in a corkscrew motion, evading a dense portion of the swarm and flying alone side the ship.

"Wooo! Yeah."

Sonic was surely enjoying himself.

As they leveled out, the port where all the men had been deployed from came into view. It was rectangular dent in the massive spacecraft and it was empty.

"Keep shooting! We're going to stop there," he commanded as he pointed to the space.

He flew down, stopping and facing the on coming swarm. The kitsune held down, speaking through a few slits in his console.

"Knuckles. Knuckles, can you hear me?"

In the white rimmed deployment room, Sally was latching on the last of the securing latches on Knuckles custom suit, one of the many custom suits that were now tossed and scattered about the room after the maneuver Tails had executed.

Knuckles held his red helmet on his hip, heading to where Tails voice came emanated. It was a speaker near the door. He pressed a button to respond.

"Ready when you are."

"Perfect. Head into one of the deployment tubes. Brace your self. I have to deploy you at a fast speed so you will have enough momentum to make it."

"Gotcha."

He secured the helmet, stepping inside the clear glass tube. Sally closed it behind him, nodding at him and wishing him luck.

"Bring our friends back, Knuckles," her muffled voice reached the encased echidna.

He nodded, serious, before he was taken down and out into the madness of space.

~aAa~

The alarm blared about the darkened room on the ship, illuminated only by the emergency light and the lights of space.

The rose sat on the edge of the bed, arms locked behind her as she thought of a what all the madness could mean.

Just as she was about to lay her head down, the door sighed and Cream and Rouge were thrown inside. The door closed before her as she ran to them, crouching to the floor to check their pulses. Their arms had been restrained as well.

"Rouge! Cream! Are you guys okay?"

Rouge sat up, her eyes red, but other than that, she was intact. Cream was conscious, sitting up and wiping her head around, her curls flying about.

"We're fine. Looks like the ships being attacked." Rouge's voice was rough.

Cream looked to the window, struggling to get up.

"Cream, what's wrong?" Amy asked.

"It's Tails! He's here! The guys are here to rescue us! I just know it!"

"What?"

As she made it to her feet, she ran to the window, watching intently. The other two followed.

The sound of space gunfire was heard and the ship shook with attack for a moment. And then a small ship flew by, white with yellow and read streaks, dashing by with tinier ships following them. Debris floated about along with colored gunfire. Cream sighed, tears appearing.

"Tails…"

"Thank Chaos," Rouge muttered.

Amy gazed out the window, not sure how to feel. Although they were there to save them, she couldn't help but think that the boys were in horrible danger. She looked about the room, searching for a means to escape.

"I knew Tails would use his new spaceship! He's been working on it for years."

A bang is heard on the door, which catches the attention of Rouge and Cream. They look behind them to see Amy shoving her shoulder into the door.

"Amy?"

She shoves again.

"Guys, we can't let them do all of the work! Let's try to find a way out and meet them halfway!"

"Yes!" Cream squealed, determined. She began shoving as well.

Rouge came over, shoving at first, but then looked at the control panel beside the door. She squinted, beginning to jam the buttons with her nose. Noises of disapproval came from the contraption, but she kept at it. Trying different combinations.

"Come on! We've got this!" Amy said, continuing to shove, with all she had.

And then a waking boom shook the ship, a bright light blinding the three.

All went silent.

The alarm of the ship shut off, no longer in a mode of panic.

They rushed to the window to see the remains and debris of Tails ship, surrounded by retreating and victorious soldiers.

A/N: Sorry it took so long! Hope you liked it! Next update should be during spring break. I have tests until then, so I won't type until then. :D


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